Trump warns shutdown would result in layoffs that would hit Democrats hardest

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to carry out mass layoffs that he said would disproportionately affect Democrats if the government shuts down.

"Well, the Democrats want to shut it down. So when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs, so we'd be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected, and the Democrats, they're going to be Democrats," he told reporters in the Oval Office.

"We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want, and they'd be Democrat things," he said.

While a shutdown does not automatically result in a full-blown economic crisis, it creates major disruptions for many aspects of American life.

Many federal employees will be furloughed, or forced to work without pay, while others will be placed on mandatory leave until a new budget is approved. Each federal agency has its own shutdown plan, determining which government employees are essential.

Unlike past shutdowns, Trump has threatened to make additional layoffs if the government shutters after firing thousands of federal employees earlier in the year. ​​​​​​​

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans of carelessly steering the country toward a shutdown.

"I just heard something that Trump said, here's what he said, 'We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible and bad for them and irreversible, like cutting vast numbers of people out.' Well, there it is. Trump admitted himself that he is using Americans as political pawns. He is admitting that he is doing the firing of people," Schumer said.

Democrats have sought to include health care reforms as part of any budget bill, including a reversal of part of Trump's signature tax law that established cuts to Medicaid funding, as well as an extension of subsidies under the US' quasi-universal health care law, known as the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans are instead demanding a "clean" continuing resolution devoid of any changes to existing spending.

The House of Representatives passed a bill Sept. 19. It would have funded the government at existing levels through Nov. 21, but it stalled in the Senate, where Republicans lack the number of seats to clear a 60-vote procedural hurdle to approve legislation.

Trump already lays claim to the longest shutdown in US history when funding lapsed in 2018 and continued for 35 days into 2019.