Johnson calls potential layoffs ‘a regrettable situation that the president does not want’
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the Trump administration’s plan to lay off thousands of federal workers is “regrettable,” but the fault is with Democrats who won’t agree to the Republicans’ proposal to reopen the government.
In an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker pressed Johnson on the administration’s unprecedented plan to lay off thousands of federal workers, noting it’s “never been done before in a shutdown.”
“We haven’t seen the details yet about what’s happening,” Johnson told Welker, when asked if he supports “laying off thousands of federal workers as a part of this shutdown.”
“But it is a regrettable situation that the president does not want,” the speaker continued.
Johnson suggested it was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) who would be causing the layoffs by not supporting the GOP funding proposal.
Welker pressed Johnson again on whether he personally wants to see federal workers laid off.
“No,” Johnson responded. “I want Chuck Schumer to do the right thing that he’s done throughout his 30-plus-year career in Congress and vote to keep the government open. We have to end the shutdown.”
Welker noted that during federal shutdowns, furloughs are typical, but layoffs are unprecedented.
“In a situation like this, where the Senate Democrats have decided to turn the keys to the kingdom over to the White House, they have to make tough decisions. Russ Vought runs the Office of Management and Budget. He has to now look at all of the federal government, recognizing that the funding streams have been turned off and determine what are essential programs, policies, and personnel,” Johnson said.
“That’s not a job that he relishes,” he continued. “But he’s being required to do it by Chuck Schumer.”
Trump met with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought on Thursday to discuss what Trump described as the “unprecedented opportunity” to consider recommendations for cuts and firings across federal agencies during the shutdown.
“It’s likely going to be in the thousands. It’s a very good question, and that’s something that the Office of Management and Budget and the entire team at the White House here again, is unfortunately having to work on today,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters ahead of the meeting on Thursday.
“These discussions and these conversations, these meetings, would not be happening if the Democrats had voted to keep the government open,” she added.