Trump says some 'Democrat programs' to be cut during shutdown may never come back
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the ongoing government shutdown is an opportunity to close "Democrat programs that we want to close up or we never wanted to happen."
"The Democrats are getting killed on the shutdown because we're closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we were opposed to. So, we're being and -- and they're never going to come back in many cases," Trump said, when asked about when he'd start bringing parties together to negotiate an end to the ongoing government shutdown.
"So we're being able to do things that we were unable to do before. So, we're closing up programs that are Democrat programs that we wanted to close up or that we never wanted to happen. And now we're closing them up, and we're not going to let them come back."
Trump indicated that a list of the programs that will be cut is expected to come on Friday.
Trump later clarified that Democratic programs include things "that we disagree with," but didn’t offer any specific examples. Trump said "Republican programs" would not be terminated.
Trump and Vought have long threatened to make cuts to Democratic agencies during the shutdown.
Asked earlier this month about those cuts, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt would not give specifics.
"We're going to look at agencies that don't align, align with the administration's values that we feel are a waste of the taxpayer dollar. And look, unfortunately, these conversations are happening because we don't have any money coming into the federal government right now," Leavitt said during a White House press briefing. "And so the President wants to be a good steward of the American taxpayer dollar during a time when our balance sheet is looking very grim because the Democrats chose to shut everything down."
Johnson says he doesn't 'have any strategy' to negotiate with Democrats
Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the possibility he could change his strategy to end the government shutdown by negotiating legislative changes with Democrats, telling reporters on Tuesday that he doesn't "have any strategy" to end the impasse in place of the GOP’s lackluster pressure campaign to pass a "clean" continuing resolution.
Johnson on Tuesday pushed Democrats to support the House-passed funding bill and slammed the Democrats' $1.5 trillion proposal, which extends health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and reverses cuts to Medicaid.
Asked whether he may consider a different negotiation track as the pressure campaign against Democrats has so far failed to break the standoff, Johnson reiterated that the House-passed bill is a "clean" continuing resolution -- free from legislative gimmicks or political games.
"Why don't I change my strategy? I don't have any strategy," the speaker told reporters. "I'm doing the right thing, the clearly obvious thing, the traditional thing."
The Senate on Tuesday evening failed for the eighth time to pass the GOP-backed "clean" continuing resolution that would fund the government.
Congressional Democrats representing Maryland and Virginia -- where a significant number of federal workers reside -- criticized Republicans over the shutdown on Tuesday morning and supported the workers.
"What we have seen happen to our federal employees we will continues to speak out against," Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat, said. "We want them to know we appreciate them, we appreciate your service to our country, we still need you, we still need what you offer our country and we will continue to work until you can be able to offer it."
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought are "viscously" attacking federal employees.
Paychecks for troops
OMB is working on ways to get paychecks to federal law-enforcement officers amid the ongoing shutdown, according to an OMB official. This comes after recent moves to pay members of the military and fund the critical Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children program.
Trump said he's directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use "all available funds" to pay members of the military on Wednesday, Oct. 15 despite the shutdown.
The Pentagon said Tuesday that it will use $8 billion found in research, development and testing funds to cover paychecks for the troops on Wednesday.
The move won the approval of Speaker Johnson.
"Look, my understanding of this is they have every right to move the funds around, duly appropriated dollars from Congress to the Department of Defense," Johnson said Tuesday. "If the Democrats want to go to court and challenge troops being paid, bring it. OK?"
OMB said on its X account on Tuesday that the Trump administration is "making every preparation" to ride out the government shutdown without caving to Democrats' demands. The agency said they'd continue cutting the federal workforce in the meantime.
"Pay the troops, pay law enforcement, continue the RIFs, and wait," the post said.
Lawmakers are still in a stalemate with negotiations at a standstill.
"We're barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history," Johnson said on Monday.
The record is 35 days and that was set in Trump's first term.
Michelle Stoddart and Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
