As the federal government shutdown stretches into its third day, tensions in Washington have only intensified. What began as a standoff over funding—Democrats demanding extensions for Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year's end, Republicans holding firm on spending caps—has now morphed into a broader assault on the bureaucracy itself. Indeed, President Donald Trump, in a fiery Truth Social post, announced plans to huddle with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to identify so-called "Democrat agencies" ripe for the chopping block. This isn't just brinkmanship; it's a deliberate strategy to shrink government, echoing the blueprint laid out in Project 2025, the conservative roadmap Vought helped architect.
Project 2025, for those catching up, is no fringe idea—it's a 900-page manifesto from the Heritage Foundation and allied groups, envisioning a total overhaul of the executive branch. The plan calls for firing up to 50,000 civil servants, dismantling agencies like the Department of Education, and centralizing power in the White House. Vought, confirmed by the Senate back in February after a contentious fight, has long championed this vision. He served in Trump's first term and now, amid the shutdown, is reportedly instructing agencies to prepare for "orderly shutdown activities" while eyeing mass layoffs that could hit in a day or two, as he told House Republicans. Critics, including Democrats, decry it as a power grab that erodes checks and balances, but Vought sees it as essential "pain on the bureaucracy" to stop wasteful spending.
Moreover, the shutdown's impacts are already biting. Federal employees are furloughed without pay, national parks stand eerily empty, and essential services teeter—though Social Security checks and military pay continue for now. Trump, in an OAN interview, shrugged off concerns, saying he wants to "survive" into 2026 while promising to axe pet projects. However, with no deal in sight and Vought's influence growing, the question lingers: is this the death knell for swaths of the federal government?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned that firings are "imminent" if the impasse holds, underscoring how Project 2025's long-game tactics have seized the moment. Yet, as lawmakers dig in, one wonders if this chaos will force compromise or cement a smaller, more partisan state apparatus.