ISTANBUL

The Trump administration has ordered federal agencies to draft plans for permanent layoffs if Congress fails to avert a government shutdown next week, according to an internal memo obtained by Politico.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) told agencies to identify programs where discretionary funding expires on Oct. 1 and “begin drafting RIF (Reduction-in-Force) plans” that would “go beyond standard furloughs,” permanently eliminating jobs in programs “not consistent with President Donald Trump’s priorities.”

“Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown,” the memo warned.

Essential operations such as Social Security, Medicare, veteran benefits, military activities, law enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection, and air traffic control would remain open, an OMB official told Politico.

'Their goal is to ruin your life'

The move breaks sharply with past shutdown practice, when furloughs were temporary.

OMB Director Russ Vought is using the threat of lasting job cuts as leverage in a funding standoff with Senate Democrats, who have rejected a House-passed stopgap bill.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the memo as an “attempt at intimidation.”

“These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court, or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, posting on the US social media company X, warned voters that “their goal is to ruin your life and punish hardworking families already struggling with Trump Tariffs and inflation.”

The OMB memo noted the firings would be avoided if Congress passes a clean funding bill before Sept. 30.