White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that when President Donald Trump said firings of federal employees are underway, he was referring to the federal workers who have been furloughed.
“The president was referring to the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have been furloughed as a result of this federal government shutdown, both here at the White House and across the entire federal government,” she said.
When asked by a reporter Sunday when he will begin firing federal employees, Trump said, “It’s taking place right now.”
“At agencies, across the board, there are federal workers who are staying home,” Leavitt continued. “Many of them work in the White House.”
She said federal workers are unable to come to their jobs “because the Democrats chose to shut the government down.”
“We’re already, unfortunately, seeing the consequence of this,” Leavitt said.
The Office of Management and Budget is continuing to work with agencies regarding who “unfortunately” will be laid off if the shutdown continues, she said.
