US Shutdown Crisis Deepens: JD Vance Warns of ‘Painful’ Layoffs as Thousands Lose Jobs

By Grace Eliza Goodwin | BBC News

US Vice-President JD Vance has issued a stark warning that more “painful” job cuts are inevitable if the ongoing government shutdown drags on, as the budget standoff in Washington shows no signs of ending.

“The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts are going to be,” Vance told Fox News on Sunday. “To be clear, some of these cuts are going to be painful.”

The shutdown, now entering its third week, has already left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay and forced several government institutions to close their doors.

The deadlock began on 1 October after Democrats rejected a short-term spending bill, insisting the budget must include an extension of federal health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans have refused to include the provision, saying Democrats are using the shutdown to push partisan demands. Democrats, meanwhile, accuse Republicans of “punishing working families” by blocking vital healthcare support.

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly reaffirmed the Democratic position on NBC’s Meet the Press, saying, “We won’t back down from reinstating healthcare subsidies in the budget now, not later. They don’t have to do this — they don’t have to punish people.”

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham countered, telling the same programme he will not vote to extend the subsidies.

The Trump administration confirmed on Friday that seven government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), had begun laying off more than 4,000 staff.

However, confusion followed when the US Health Department admitted that some of the CDC layoff notices were sent in error. “Those employees have all been notified that they are not subject to the reduction in force,” department spokesperson Andrew Nixon told the BBC.

According to the employees’ union, about 1,300 CDC staff were initially dismissed on Friday, but roughly 700 were reinstated a day later.

While most federal workers — including air traffic controllers and law enforcement officers — are working without pay, President Donald Trump ordered that service members receive their wages this week.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed that $8 billion would be reallocated from “unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds” to pay military personnel on 15 October if the shutdown continues.

The shutdown’s impact continues to ripple across the country. Several Smithsonian museums, research centres, and the National Zoo in Washington DC shut down on Sunday after running out of emergency funds.

Vice-President Vance blamed Democrats for the worsening situation, saying: “This is not a situation we relish. These layoffs are not something we’re looking forward to, but the Democrats have dealt us a pretty difficult set of cards.”

With neither side showing signs of compromise, millions of Americans are bracing for deeper economic fallout as the shutdown stretches into its third week.