The White House is seeking to put Democrats on the defensive and pressure the opposition into backing a measure to open up Washington, as the government shutdown heads into its third week.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced on Friday that the Trump administration has begun laying off federal workers. The White House has framed the cuts as Democrats’ fault due to accusations the party could have stopped such “reductions in force,” or RIFs, if they had lifted a block in the Senate on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) continuing resolution. 

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The RIFs are targeting workers across at least seven federal agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, according to court filings. Over 4,000 workers were laid off on Friday, with the majority being from HHS and the Treasury Department.

Democratic elders have sought to cast blame on Republicans for the shutdown, arguing it could be averted if the GOP agreed to attach provisions to the CR enacting healthcare reforms. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been a leading critic, saying of the RIFs this week that “Republicans would rather see thousands of Americans lose their jobs than sit down and negotiate with Democrats to reopen the government.” 

But President Donald Trump has led the majority party in arguing that Democrats could have avoided the cuts if they had agreed to the “clean” CR. 

“They’re taking a risk by having a shutdown,” Trump warned in comments blasting Democrats last week. “We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible. Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.”

The Trump administration is also seeking to intensify pressure on Democrats to back Johnson’s CR by highlighting military families captured on video standing in lines at food pantries. Wednesday, October 15, marks the day more than 2 million military members are set to miss their first federal paychecks because of the government shutdown. If that happens, it would mark the first time in U.S. history that all active-duty troops are not paid on time. 

And White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt sought to point the fingers at political foes again on Friday over a senior Democratic aide’s statement to CNN saying the party will not stop blocking the GOP’s CR “short of “planes falling out of the sky.” Trump’s press chief called the words “one of the most disgusting statements I’ve ever read,” in a post to X. 

“As military families resort to food pantries, law enforcement’s next paycheck hangs in the balance, and travelers nationwide face mounting delays—all due to the Democrats’ Shutdown—Chuck Schumer and Dems brag that every day’s getting better for them. Despicable,” the White House said in a statement referencing Schumer’s recent comments in which he said of Democrats’ shutdown strategy that “every day gets better for us.”

Democrats have argued Republicans are to blame for refusing to attach Obamacare subsidies and other provisions to the CR. Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) is among those who have reserved special blame for Johnson, whose office revealed on Friday the House would be kept out of session for the third straight week in a bid to keep pressure on Senate Democrats in Washington.

“Shame on Speaker Johnson for giving House Republicans a paid vacation while our military troops and public servants go without pay,” Kim wrote in a post to X. “This government shutdown won’t end unless Speaker Johnson is willing to come back to work.”

Johnson has hit back at criticism. 

TRUMP’S SHUTDOWN WORKFORCE THREATS COULD BACKFIRE

“We had a vote to pay the troops. It was the continuing resolution three weeks ago. Every single Republican but two voted to keep the government open so that your paycheck can flow. Every Democrat in the House, except for one, voted to close it. The Democrats are the ones that are preventing you from getting a check,” the House speaker said during a CSPAN appearance on Thursday. 

Still, Johnson is facing growing divisions within his own ranks. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is leading rebels in the lower chamber, demanding on Friday that Republicans “get back to work.” She previously called on Johnson to listen to Democrats’ demands on healthcare and open the government.