Federal Agencies Attribute Potential Shutdown to Congressional Democrats

Several federal agencies have communicated to their employees that President Donald Trump is not responsible for the potential government shutdown, attributing the situation to congressional Democrats. The emails, distributed broadly across the federal workforce, state that "President Trump opposes a government shutdown" and "strongly supports" a House-passed continuing resolution intended to fund agencies through November 21. The messages assert that "Democrats are blocking this continuing resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands," and warn that if congressional Democrats "refuse to pass a clean continuing resolution," federal funding will lapse.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has instructed agencies to prepare for potential reductions-in-force (RIFs) affecting programs that lack alternative funding sources and are "not consistent with the president's priorities." President Trump indicated support for such measures, stating, "when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs," and suggesting that those affected "are going to be Democrats."

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) posted a notice on its website warning that "Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands." Similarly, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a statement claiming that "radical liberals in Congress are trying to shut down the government to achieve their crazy fantasy of open borders, 'transgender' for everybody and men competing in women's sports." The VA noted that while most of its programs would continue during a shutdown, some services, such as career counseling and transition assistance, would be temporarily halted.

These communications represent an unusual step for federal agencies, marking an escalation in rhetoric ahead of a potential funding lapse.