Democrats accuse White House of using crisis to shrink government
US President Donald Trump has signalled that the federal shutdown, now entering its second day, could be used to justify sweeping and potentially permanent cuts to US government agencies.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he would meet budget director Russ Vought, a key architect of rightwing proposals to downsize the federal government, to discuss which departments should be eliminated.
“I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of Project 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,” Trump wrote.
“I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity.”
Agencies in the firing line
Since the shutdown began on Wednesday, the administration has announced it will halt $18bn of infrastructure projects in New York City, including the Hudson Tunnel and Second Avenue Subway, pending reviews of diversity-based criteria.
Vought also said $8bn of clean energy funding would be cancelled in Democrat-leaning states, dismissing the investments as part of a “Green new scam”.
Earlier in his second term, Trump moved to shutter the US Agency for International Development and cut budgets for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, both of which he has criticised as politically motivated.
Democrats condemn ‘political cover’
Democrats accused the White House of exploiting the shutdown to pursue long-standing ideological goals.
“For the last nine months of this administration, there has been incredible harm inflicted on my constituents,” said New York congressman Pat Ryan.
“Now, instead of responding to that, the president is doubling down, cutting bipartisan infrastructure funding. It’s just not what the people want.”
GOP backing for cuts
Some Republicans have welcomed the shift. Utah senator Mike Lee joked that Vought had been “meticulously preparing for the ‘Schumer shutdown’ since puberty” and predicted Democrats would face their “worst nightmare”.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent defended the strategy, saying Trump had the right to use “all the levers” of power, though he acknowledged the shutdown could dent US economic growth.
“We could see a hit to the GDP, a hit to growth, and a hit to working Americans,” Bessent admitted, while blaming Democrats for holding the government “hostage” to progressive demands.
Project 2025 revived
Vought, once seen as a marginal figure, has become central to the administration’s agenda.
A contributor to the Project 2025 manifesto for Republican governance, he is now steering Trump’s efforts to realign federal spending towards priorities favoured by conservatives.
While Trump distanced himself from the document during last year’s election, his latest embrace of its ideas signals a renewed push to shrink government power—even if it comes at the cost of a protracted shutdown and economic disruption.
