Vance warned that as the federal shutdown entered its 12th day, the new cuts would be “painful,” even as he said the Trump administration worked to ensure that the military is paid this week and some services would be preserved for low-income Americans, including food assistance.
“The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts are going to be,” Vance said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “To be clear, some of these cuts are going to be painful.
Progressive activists, meanwhile, expressed new support for the Democratic Party’s position in the shutdown fight.
“Trump and GOP are rightfully taking the blame for the shutdown and for looming premium increases,” Levin said.
“You hear a lot of Senate Democrats say, well, how can Donald Trump possibly lay off all of these federal workers?” Vance said.
In addition to the uncertainty facing hundreds of thousands of people who are already on unpaid furlough due to the impasse in Congress, Vice President JD Vance stated on Sunday that the longer the government shutdown lasts, the more cuts will be made to the federal workforce.
Even as the federal shutdown entered its 12th day, Vance said the Trump administration was working to ensure that the military was paid this week and that certain services, such as food assistance, would remain available to low-income Americans. However, he warned that the new cuts would be “painful.”.
Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of government employees have been placed on furlough in recent days, and the Office of Management and Budget announced in a court filing on Friday that well over 4,000 federal employees would soon be let go in connection with the shutdown. Due to a lack of funding, the Smithsonian announced on Sunday that its museums, research centers, and National Zoo would be temporarily closed moving forward. The shutdown’s effects only intensified.
Vance stated during Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that the cuts would become more profound the longer this continues. To be clear, some of these cuts will hurt. We do not enjoy this circumstance. We don’t look forward to this, but the Democrats have dealt us a very challenging pair of cards. “”.
READ MORE: Despite the shutdown, Trump orders the Pentagon to pay troops using “all available funds.”.
In an effort to halt President Donald Trump’s budget office’s aggressive action, which goes well beyond what typically occurs during a government shutdown and exacerbates tensions between the Democratic minority and the Republicans who control Congress, labor unions have already filed a lawsuit.
The shutdown started in October. 1 after Democrats insisted that the bill include an extension of federal subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act after rejecting a temporary funding fix. When those subsidies expire at the end of the year, millions of people will see an increase in their monthly expenses.
Though they maintain that the government must reopen first, Trump and Republican leaders have stated that they are amenable to talks regarding the health subsidies.
There are hardly any negotiations going on right now. During their rival Sunday appearances on “Fox News Sunday,” House leaders from both parties dug in as usual, accusing one another. “.”.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York stated, “We have stated time and time again that we will meet with anyone, anywhere, at any time.”. The Senate, the House, and the presidency are all under Republican control. The fact that they have adopted a “my way or the highway” strategy is regrettable. “”.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson accused Democrats of being indifferent to the suffering caused by the shutdown.
He claimed that in order to demonstrate to their Marxist growing base in the Democratic Party that they are prepared to take on Trump and Republicans, they are doing everything in their power to divert the American people from the obvious fact that they have chosen a partisan battle.
In the meantime, progressive activists voiced fresh backing for the Democratic Party’s stance in the shutdown dispute.
Co-founder of Indivisible, a prominent progressive protest organization, Ezra Levin, expressed his satisfaction with the Democratic Party’s strong stance. He cited the GOP’s divisions, pointing out that Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene made a public warning last week that if nothing is done, the cost of health insurance for regular Americans, including her own adult children, will increase dramatically.
Levin stated that the shutdown and impending premium hikes are legitimately the fault of Trump and the Republican Party. It’s time for their hens to come home. “”.
However, there are no indications that the Republican administration and its congressional allies will yield to Democratic pressure or back down from threats to take advantage of the situation to further reduce the federal workforce.
According to federal workers’ union representatives and agency spokespeople, thousands of workers at the departments of Education, Treasury, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, will be receiving notices of layoffs.
“You hear many Senate Democrats ask, ‘How can Donald Trump fire all these federal employees?'” Vance said. The Democrats have presented us with a choice between, on the one hand, paying federal bureaucrats and, on the other, providing food benefits to low-income women and our troops. “”.
Democrats claim the terminations are needless and unlawful.
“This is not necessary for them to do,” stated Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona on “State of the Union” on CNN. “They don’t have to punish those who shouldn’t be in this situation.”. “”.
