Trump, OMB Plan Cuts to Federal Agencies

President Trump said he will meet with OMB Director Russell Vought to determine which federal “Democrat agencies” should face cuts and whether reductions would be temporary or permanent. Vought, a leading architect of the conservative Project 2025 blueprint, has used the funding lapse to pause or cancel nearly $8 billion in clean-energy awards and to put major New York transportation projects on hold amid reviews of alleged unconstitutional DEI practices. Vought has directed agencies to prepare plans that could include mass firings beyond routine furloughs, while the White House frames the moves as efforts to eliminate “dead wood, waste, and fraud.” Democrats and critics call the effort partisan and warn it may exceed the administration’s legal authority. The government shutdown entered its second day with congressional negotiations unresolved, raising concerns about economic costs and potential widespread layoffs if funding is not restored.