Extraordinary steps and measures: JD Vance addresses government shutdown

Vance emphasized that the administration is preparing to implement layoffs if the shutdown continues, noting that the priority is to maintain essential government services.

“It’s not going to be perfect. Because we are in a government shutdown, we are going to have to lay some people off if the shutdown continues. We don’t like that. We don’t necessarily want to do it. But we’re going to do what we have to do to keep the American people’s essential services continuing to run,” he said.

He underlined that any potential layoffs won’t be “targeting federal agencies based on politics,” but instead “targeting the people’s government so that as much as possible of the essential services can continue to function.” The VP stressed that critical operations remain the guiding principle during the disruption.

Vance said reopening the government should come before broader policy negotiations.

“We are willing to have a conversation about how to ensure that Americans continue to have access to health care,” he said. “We think that we can open the government and then have the conversation about what is the best health care policy to fit the needs of the American people. That’s all we’re trying to do. That’s all we’re trying to accomplish. We’ve got to reopen the government first.”

He confirmed ongoing talks with lawmakers from both parties, adding that efforts were focused on securing additional Democratic votes.

”We’re talking to a number of our colleagues, Democratic and Republican, in the Senate. I talked to a number of them last night. The President, of course, is talking to them as well. (…) So three moderate Democrats joined 52 Republicans last night. We need five more in order to reopen the government. That’s really where we’re going to focus: on how to get those five additional Democrats,” he explained.

Asked what makes the current situation different, Vance said the administration was taking “extraordinary steps,” despite not yet having “any final decisions about what we’re going to do with certain workers,” while working to “operate as well as it possibly can” in the midst of the shutdown.

He also shared his assessment about the duration of the shutdown, saying, “I actually don’t think it’s going to be that long of a shutdown. This is a pure guess from the Vice President of the United States, because I think you already saw some evidence that moderate Democrats are cracking a little bit.”

Earlier today, the United States federal government entered a shutdown after lawmakers did not come to an agreement on a measure to extend funding. Later in the day, a Senate vote to end the shutdown did not advance, with Democrats insisting on the inclusion of health care subsidies that President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers opposed.