White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed Thursday that thousands of federal workers face potential job losses due to the ongoing government shutdown. The administration had previously warned of “imminent” mass layoffs, with some employees at risk of permanent separation from their positions within days.

President Donald Trump seized on the crisis, urging congressional Republicans to leverage the shutdown to eliminate what he called “wasteful spending.” On Truth Social, Trump claimed: “Republicans must use this opportunity of Democrat forced closure to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud. Billions of Dollars can be saved. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump reiterated his stance Thursday, stating, “I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity.” He criticized Democratic efforts to pass a $1.5 trillion alternative continuing resolution (CR), which included provisions for Medicaid funding for undocumented immigrants and the restoration of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. The clean Republican CR, passed by the House, has stalled in the Senate after failing three times to secure 60 votes. A new vote is set for Friday.

Leavitt emphasized that the White House is working with the Office of Budget and Management to reduce the federal workforce, stating, “it’s likely going to be in the thousands.” She blamed Democrats for the crisis, asserting, “These discussions would not be happening if the Democrats had voted to keep the government open.”

The administration also announced $18 billion in withheld infrastructure funding for New York City, home to Democratic leaders Rep. Hakeem Jeffreys and Senator Chuck Schumer. Trump later claimed he met with OMB Director Russ Vought to evaluate which “Democrat Agencies” should be cut, calling them a “political SCAM.” He added, “THE DEMOCRATS WANT TO GIVE YOUR HEALTHCARE MONEY TO ILLEGAL ALIENS AND OPEN OUR BORDERS TO THE CRIMINALS OF THE WORLD, A DEADLY COMBINATION BECAUSE EVERYBODY WILL COME!”

The White House reiterated its stance that the shutdown is a Democratic failure, with Leavitt accusing Democrats of “lying about wanting to give tax-payer benefits to illegal aliens.” She highlighted Trump’s opposition to such policies, stating, “We stopped it with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, and now they want to undo the president’s very popular policy.”