Overview

• Senate efforts to pass a seven‑week stopgap repeatedly failed 55–45, and leaders signal another likely failed vote Friday that could push the lapse into next week.
• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said layoffs are likely to be in the thousands, while legal permanent job cuts would require a formal Reduction in Force process.
• President Trump called the funding lapse an "unprecedented opportunity" to shrink the federal workforce and met with OMB Director Russ Vought about targeting agencies for cuts.
• OMB has paused or clawed back major discretionary funds, including about $18 billion for New York transportation projects and $8 billion for clean‑energy spending.
• The CBO estimates roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed daily, while many benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, Social Security and Section 8 continue for now, and fee‑funded USCIS remains open though some Labor Department‑dependent visa filings are stalled.