Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned President Donald Trump's administration's plans for federal worker layoffs, announced via an OMB memo between 2:36 AM and 3:06 AM UTC on September 25th. Schumer stated on X at approximately 2:54 AM UTC that the actions are an "attempt at intimidation" and "nothing new," asserting the firings are not about funding the government but about "to scare." Jeffries similarly denounced the "threat to engage in mass firings" as the work of a "malignant political hack." Schumer's statement, shared on X by Andrew Desiderio, further claimed that "Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one... This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government." He added that "unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today." This follows previous reports from the early morning of September 25th and the preceding day, detailing the White House Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) preparation of guidance for agencies to plan for Reduction in Force (RIF) layoffs, anticipating a potential government shutdown. In related political commentary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis attacked California Governor Gavin Newsom for his stance on ICE agents, sharing his remarks on X. DeSantis criticized Newsom for "ATTACKING ICE agents" and for "wielding executive power to muzzle people," referencing Newsom's past COVID-19 mask mandates for children. Separately, a quote from President Donald Trump was shared on X stating, "RELATIONSHIP WITH PUTIN DIDN’T MEAN ANYTHING UNFORTUNATELY."
