Leavitt says cuts to federal programs ‘very real,’ says ‘thousands’ of firings are likely
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday the threat of mass firings and ending federal programs is «very real» and there will likely be «thousands» of federal workers laid off during the government shutdown.
Leavitt would not give specifics when speaking with reporters nor would she comment on Trump’s social media post where he said he was meeting with Vought to determine which «Democratic Agencies» would be cut.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to the media at the White House in Washington, October 2, 2025.
Bonnie Cash/EPA/Shutterstock
«We’re going to look at agencies that don’t align, align with the administration’s values that we feel are a waste of the taxpayer dollar. And look, unfortunately, these conversations are happening because we don’t have any money coming into the federal government right now,» she said.
Leavitt spoke with Fox News and said the threat of mass firings was «very real» and not a negotiating tactic.
Leavitt on Fox indicated that layoffs and cuts are necessary because of accounting, however, the White House has not given specifics or the math on what services are at risk.
White House officials have not answered questions on how firing people who are not getting paid will help with the accounting issues.
-ABC News’ Karen Travers and Michelle Stoddart
Furloughed workers pushed to make out of office messages that blame Democrats for shutdown
The Office of Management and Budget encouraged federal employees to create out-of-office email messages denouncing «Democrat Senators» for causing the government shutdown, according to messages reviewed by ABC News.
«Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume,» the text of an email template provided to furloughed Department of Labor employees says.
A crosswalk signal of a traffic light flashes backdropped by the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 1, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Some furloughed federal employees at the Department of Education reported their out-of-office replies were automatically reset to mimic the language above.
«[They] did it after everyone left,» one Department of Ed staffer told ABC News.
Several federal workers expressed concern to ABC News that adding the messages to their email accounts would violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities during their official duties.
-ABC News’ Jay O’Brien, Arthur Jones II, Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin
More Americans blame Trump, GOP for shutdown: Poll
The majority of Americans blame the president and congressional Republicans for the federal shutdown, according to a poll released Thursday.
The Washington Post survey found that 47% of Americans think Trump and the GOP are responsible for the ongoing shutdown, while 30% said it was the Democrats. Roughly 23% of Americans said they were not sure who was to blame.
President Donald Trump answers questions while childhood cancer survivors and their families gather in the Oval Office at the White House, September 30, 2025 in Washington.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
«In an open-ended question, those blaming Trump and Republicans cited a refusal to compromise, the party’s control of the presidency and Congress, and Trump’s actions,» the Post said.
The poll was conducted on Oct. 1. They surveyed 1,010, and the margin of error was +/- 3.5%.
-ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd
3 hours and 23 minutes ago
Trump to meet with OMB director Thursday to determine which federal agencies to cut
On day two of the government shutdown, President Donald Trump said he has a meeting scheduled Thursday with OMB Director Russ Vought to determine which agencies he «recommends» be cut– either temporarily or permanently.
In his post, Trump references Vought through the lens of ‘PROJECT 2025 Fame’ — suggesting that the director, who was a key architect of the controversial federal policy agenda, could take inspiration from that blueprint, which had a vision for mass federal layoffs.
«I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,» Trump wrote on his social media platform.
He called the shutdown an «unprecedented opportunity.»
The Capitol is seen on the first day of a government shutdown, in Washington, Oct. 1, 2025.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
–ABC News’ Isabella Murray
