Trump Admin Directs ‘Orderly Shutdown’ As Government Funding Expires
The Trump administration has ordered federal agencies to begin an “orderly shutdown” after Senate Democrats blocked passage of a short-term spending bill Tuesday night, forcing a lapse in government funding.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought sent a memo to all executive agencies instructing them to activate their shutdown protocols and squarely blamed Democrats for the impasse. The Senate fell five votes short of passing a Republican-backed continuing resolution that would have extended funding for seven weeks.
“Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of [the funding bill] in the Senate due to Democrats’ insane policy demands, which include $1 trillion in new spending,” Vought wrote. “President Trump supports passage of H.R. 5371, but it is now clear that Democrats will prevent passage of this clean [continuing resolution] prior to 11:59pm tonight and force a government shutdown. As such, affected agencies should now execute their plans for an orderly shutdown.”
The House passed H.R. 5371 last month, maintaining spending levels from the previous fiscal year. Senate Democrats rejected the measure, instead demanding new funding packages tied to healthcare, subsidies, and social programs.
Vought’s memo noted the uncertainty of the shutdown’s duration. “It is unclear how long Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the shutdown difficult to predict,” he wrote. Federal employees are instructed to report for their next shift to begin shutdown activities, with normal operations resuming once Trump signs an appropriations bill.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s deadline, OMB had already directed agencies to prepare for reductions in force, warning departments to be ready to “retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions.”
The Senate will reconvene Wednesday morning to continue negotiations on government funding, but with Democrats refusing to back the House-passed resolution, the stalemate shows no immediate signs of breaking.