Government Shutdown Looms — Russell Vought Already Drafting Mass “You’re Fired” Memo for Federal Workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With a government shutdown days away, federal employees are nervously awaiting the fallout. Russell Vought, however, is reportedly grinning ear to ear, describing the moment as “the Super Bowl of firing people.”

The fight centers on a short-term funding bill: Republicans want it passed as-is, even though it lets Affordable Care Act subsidies lapse and keeps sweeping Medicaid cuts in place. Democrats, under pressure from their base, are refusing to budge without protecting health care programs.

Enter Vought, the White House budget director, who seems almost giddy at the prospect of a shutdown. His office has already circulated memos instructing agencies to treat the lapse in funding as a chance to fire government workers outright. Colleagues say he’s already polishing a termination letter with “the care of a man editing his magnum opus.”

Trump insists Democrats will be blamed if the lights go out, while Democrats argue the GOP is actively rooting for it. For Vought, however, there is no ambiguity: a shutdown, he says, “would be a rare chance to squash federal workers—just like the bugs they are.”