The federal government may have to lay off "thousands" of employees if the government shutdown continues, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned Thursday.
Leavitt made the comments during a gaggle with reporters outside the White House, saying administration officials are already gaming out the layoffs.
"Look, it's likely going to be in the thousands. It's a very good question. And that's something that the Office of Management and Budget and the entire team at the White House here, again, is unfortunately having to work on today," Leavitt said.
"These discussions and these conversations, these meetings would not be happening if the Democrats had voted to keep the government open," she added.
DEMOCRATS AT A BIG DISADVANTAGE IN SHUTDOWN AS TRUMP STARTS SLASHING THEIR PROGRAMS
Leavitt went on to accuse Democrats of playing politics with the shutdown, arguing there is "zero good reason" for Democrats to obstruct the process.
"They are doing it for political reasons. They are doing it because they want to give taxpayer-funded health care benefits to illegal aliens, which is something that American people resoundingly rejected ahead of the election last year," she said.
VANCE BRINGS RECEIPTS TO TARGET DEMS ON HEALTHCARE BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS
President Donald Trump announced earlier Thursday that he is set to meet with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought later Thursday to discuss which agencies "are a political SCAM."
Vought is tasked with recommending which agencies should face cuts and whether those cuts should be temporary or permanent.
"I can't believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity," Trump wrote on social media. "They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
The federal government entered a partial shutdown Wednesday after the midnight funding deadline passed, with Democrats and Republicans failing to agree on a funding bill.
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday accused Democrats of forcing the shutdown over providing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded emergency healthcare and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., fearing a primary challenge from progressive "Squad" member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report
