Sept. 30 (UPI) — A lot of federal government employees might be laid off after the Senate votes on a continuing resolution to keep the government open while working on a new budget.
The Senate has scheduled a 5 p.m. EDT vote on the continuing resolution that would fund the government for another month while working on a Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
Democrats and Republicans each have introduced resolutions to keep the government open, but neither is expected to pass as the 2025 fiscal year ends at the end of the day on Tuesday, according to The Hill.
When asked how many federal government workers might be laid off, President Donald Trump told reporters: “We may do a lot, and that’s only because of the Democrats.”
“They want to be able to take care of people who come into our country illegally, and no system can handle that,” Trump said.
“They want to give them full health care benefits, [and] they want to open the wall again,” the president added. “They don’t change.”
The president’s contention about free healthcare benefits for illegal migrants is untrue.
Senate Democrats are proposing to keep the government open through Oct. 31 with a continuing resolution that would extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for health insurance premiums that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
They also want to restore $1 trillion in Medicaid reductions that the president said would provide health care for non-citizens, including those who illegally entered the United States.
Congressional leaders met with the president on Monday, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., afterward said the two sides are very far apart on their demands, Roll Call reported.
Schumer said any short-term funding deal must include extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits and that he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., refuse to negotiate an extension separately from a continuing resolution that would keep the government open.
“When they say later, they mean never,” Schumer said of the GOP’s offer to negotiate an extension. “Now is the time we can get it done.”
Senate Republicans favor a “clean” resolution that was approved in the House of Representatives and would keep the government open another seven weeks while Congress continues working on a fiscal year 2026 budget bill.
Either resolution would require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and pass in the Senate.
The House already approved the GOP-proposed continuing resolution that only received 47 votes for versus 45 against in the Senate on Sept. 19.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Thune, R-S.D., intends to hold another vote on the GOP resolution as it was presented on Sept. 19. A vote also is expected on the Democrats’ proposal.