Overview

• The federal government remains shut down after Congress failed to pass a stopgap bill, with Senate rules leaving Republicans short of Democratic votes to advance a House-passed measure.
• OMB Director Russell Vought placed $18 billion for New York transit projects on hold and moved to withhold nearly $8 billion in climate-related funding in Democratic-led states.
• President Trump called the closure an “unprecedented opportunity” to target “Democrat agencies” and said he would meet Vought to decide cuts, as the White House said layoffs are likely to number in the thousands.
• Federal unions filed suit to block permanent reductions in force during the funding lapse, and legal analysts said such firings could violate appropriations and personnel law and face months of litigation.
• Multiple agencies posted or pushed messages blaming Democrats for the shutdown, prompting ethics complaints over potential Hatch Act violations, while stalled IT projects, skeleton cybersecurity staffing, and delayed federal data releases added to operational strain.