() The Trump administration is making plans to lay off federal workers if a shutdown continues, warning of major cuts.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the number could be in the thousands if the shutdown continues. She said the president is meeting with the Office of Management and Budget director today to determine the number of cuts.

“These discussions, these meetings, would not be happening if the Democrats had voted to keep the government open,” Leavitt said.

Trump’s threat to fire workers is a break from how shutdowns have been traditionally handled.

In the past, federal workers have been furloughed during a shutdown and returned to their jobs once the shutdown is over. Since 2019, those workers automatically receive back pay for the time the government was closed.

Firing workers during a shutdown has not been done before, and it’s not entirely clear whether Trump has the authority to fire workers under these circumstances.

Leaders on both sides of the aisle have been pointing fingers at the opposing party when it comes to the shutdown.

Democrats are pushing for an extension of COVID-era Affordable Care Act subsidies that help families afford premiums for health insurance purchased through the exchange. They are also demanding that some Medicaid cuts made in President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” be reversed, and they want to prohibit the White House from clawing back funding appropriated by Congress.

Republicans want to pass a bill that maintains funding at current levels. They have also characterized Democratic demands as funding health care for people in the country illegally, but people without documentation are not eligible for those health care subsidies.