US government shuts down and President Donald Trump says…

US Government Shutdown: The United States government entered its second day of shutdown on Thursday, as negotiations between President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers failed to deliver a funding deal. The deadlock has forced federal agencies to scale back operations, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers facing furloughs or possible layoffs.

In his first reaction, American president urged Republicans to seize the moment. “Republicans must use this opportunity of Democrat forced closure to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud. Billions of Dollars can be saved,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

White House response

Vice President JD Vance, addressing reporters from the White House briefing room, placed responsibility on Democrats. “We are going to have to lay some people off if the shutdown continues. We don’t like that. We don’t necessarily want to do it, but we’re going to do what we have to do to keep the American people’s essential services continuing to run,” he said.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that agencies were preparing for staff and service cuts. Meanwhile, budget director Russ Vought announced a freeze on nearly $26 billion– including $18 billion for New York transit projects such as the subway and Hudson Tunnel, and $8 billion for green-energy programs across 16 Democratic-led states like California and Illinois.

Trump praised his budget chief’s approach, remarking, “He can trim the budget to a level that you couldn’t do any other way.”

Also Read: Will passport, visa services continue as US government shuts down? 

According to the Congressional Budget Office, about 750,000 federal employees could face furloughs on any given day, with potential daily wage losses of around  $400 million. The shutdown is also delaying key economic data releases, including the monthly jobs report and weekly unemployment claims, raising concerns for an already uncertain economy.

The White House signaled that layoffs — not just temporary furloughs –could follow if the funding gap drags on.

Democrats vs Republicans

White House officials accused Democrats of prioritising health care for undocumented immigrants over keeping the government funded. “Democrats in Congress have shut down the federal government because they care more about funding health care for illegal immigrants than they care about serving you, the American people,” Leavitt said.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has rejected the charge. “Donald Trump says it loud and clear: He is using the American people as pawns, threatening pain on the country as blackmail,’ foreign media quoted him as saying.

Also Read: History of US Shutdowns: From Clinton’s budget clash to Trump’s wall fight, a look at how they ended  

Shutdowns in US history

Shutdowns have been a recurring feature of Washington politics for decades:

• In the 1990s, clashes between President Bill Clinton and Republicans sparked shutdowns lasting five and 21 days.
• In 2013, a funding battle over the Affordable Care Act closed the government for 16 days.
• The longest shutdown stretched 35 days in 2018–19 under Trump, over funding for his proposed border wall.