Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Thursday accused President Trump of engaging in “mafia-style blackmail” after his budget director promised mass firings if the government shuts down at the end of the month.
“President Trump is engaged in mafia-style blackmail, with his threats ultimately harming the American people,” Van Hollen said in a statement Thursday.
“He is threatening to double down on the failed actions of Elon Musk and his chainsaw — going after patriotic civil servants that provide Americans with critical services — despite having to rehire many of these workers after Americans experienced the negative impact of those cuts,” he continued.
White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, a key player in the Project 2025 effort to gut the federal workforce, is directing federal agencies to ready mass firings in the event that Congress doesn’t extend federal funding beyond Sept. 30, causing large parts of the government to shut down.
In a new memo, the OMB instructed department leaders to “use this opportunity to consider reduction in force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities” that meet several specific criteria. Among those considerations, a program might be on the chopping block if it’s deemed to not be “consistent with the president’s priorities” while also satisfying all other conditions laid out in the memo.
The threat raises the pressure on Democratic leaders in Congress to support a Republican spending bill to keep the government running through Nov. 21.
But Van Hollen said Democrats will fight back to protect government workers. Other party leaders, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), also bashed the Trump administration for the OMB memo on Thursday.
“These dedicated workers have nothing to do with the ongoing political and policy disputes that have brought us to the brink of a shutdown,” Van Hollen said. “These threats are not only an attack on Americans’ services and benefits, they’re also likely illegal. We’ll be fighting back with every tool we have.”
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.