• The White House warns mass layoffs could begin if negotiations with Democrats stall on ending the partial government shutdown.
• Hassett says, “If the president decides that the negotiations are absolutely going nowhere, then there will start to be layoffs,” signaling a potential escalation.
• Lawmakers remain at an impasse, with Democrats demanding ACA tax credits extension and spending assurances; Senate votes loom.
• The potential impact includes hundreds of thousands of federal workers facing furloughs, with back pay restoration only after a deal is reached.

The White House has signaled that mass layoffs could begin if negotiations with congressional Democrats are “absolutely going nowhere,” according to White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett. He told CNN that “If the president decides that the negotiations are absolutely going nowhere, then there will start to be layoffs,” while noting officials remain hopeful for a deal to avert layoffs. As the shutdown enters its fifth day, Democrats are demanding a permanent extension of enhanced ACA tax credits and assurances that spending agreed to in any deal would not be unilaterally canceled, a pattern echoed in reporting from Reuters, Al Jazeera, ABC News, and Channel News Asia. “What we’ve seen is negotiation through deep fake videos, the House canceling votes and, of course, President Trump spending yesterday on the golf course,” House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Negotiations have stalled with no meaningful progress since Trump met congressional leaders last week, and Senate Democrats contend that renewed talks could end the standoff. “They’ve refused to talk with us,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on CBS’s Face the Nation, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune urged Democrats to reopen the government first. “It’s open up the government or else,” Thune told Fox News. Across the Capitol, House and Senate leaders sparred over healthcare and spending, with criticisms focusing more on conduct than policy details, as reported by Reuters, Al Jazeera, ABC News, and Channel News Asia. “They have refused to talk to us even once … we’ve tried to talk to them for months and months and months and they said, ‘No’,” Schumer said on CBS’s program.

Officials note that the potential layoffs could affect hundreds of thousands of federal workers, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that nearly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed if the shutdown persists, and total lost compensation could reach about $400 million per day. The two sides have struggled to advance a funding bill, and while workers are guaranteed back pay under the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, payments would resume only after the shutdown ends, a point echoed in Reuters and Al Jazeera reporting. “payments will only resume once the shutdown ends,” the Al Jazeera piece notes, underscoring the financial stakes of the standoff.