Trump’s Threat of Mass Firings Risks Lasting Shutdown Damage

If the administration acts on its current plans, it will permanently cut federal jobs en masse – essentially using the temporary closure of a shutdown to argue that those workers were never necessary anyway. 

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

The Trump administration’s threat to fire federal employees rather than furlough them in a possible government shutdown marks a further erosion of job security for a workforce that has already been upended by budget cuts and layoffs.

It also tempts lasting economic damage and political fallout for President Donald Trump.