Overview

• OMB Director Russell Vought has suspended billions for the Gateway Tunnel between New Jersey and New York and advanced deep workforce cuts aligned with Project 2025.
• More than 620,000 federal employees are furloughed one week into the funding lapse, with services curtailed and some national parks closing.
• Air travel has been disrupted, including a period without controllers at Hollywood Burbank Airport and widespread delays at major hubs.
• An OMB draft memo questioning guaranteed back pay drew public criticism from Sens. Susan Collins, John Thune, and Thom Tillis, with Thune saying, “We don’t control what he’s going to do.”
• President Trump posted an AI video depicting Vought as the Grim Reaper and said back pay for furloughed workers could depend “on who we’re talking about.”