Federal funding will expire at the end of the fiscal year at midnight on Sept. 30 which may result in a dramatically reoriented federal government both during and potentially after a shutdown. A new version of the government may emerge, aligned more to the vision of White House OMB Director Russell Vought, one of the principal architects of the original Project 2025 master plan. The new government would be focused on defense, immigration, and law enforcement—leaving other priorities virtually unfunded, according to an analysis in the Washington Post.
This Vought plan would protect the Defense Department and Homeland Security Department, and any functions that reflect the President’s policy goals and itemized in the $4.1 trillion “One Big Beautiful Bill.” On Sept. 25 Vought’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a memo to agencies directing them to prepare for mass firings should the shutdown occur. This OMB memo directs all agencies not itemized by the Trump budget to “retain the minimal number of employees necessary” to legally operate.
According to this scenario some federal functions would continue seamlessly, such as National Guard deployments to major cities and immigration enforcement, although officers would not be paid until the shutdown ends. But other agencies, such as the Labor Department, would see most operations cease, and then thousands of employees would be fired. National Parks would close and staff would face layoffs. The tax-help phone lines at the IRS would go unanswered, possibly permanently.
