According to the memo, agencies were instructed to outline which programs would lose funding and lack alternative financial support if lawmakers fail to reach an agreement. The note emphasized that programs not aligned with President Donald Trump’s priorities could face permanent job eliminations. “Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown,” the memo stated.

Despite the looming threat, the White House added that it remained hopeful Congress would avoid a shutdown and make such measures unnecessary. On Friday, the House passed a short-term funding bill, but it was blocked in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would not support the package unless it included provisions to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the start of the new year.

Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries were scheduled to meet with President Trump on Tuesday to discuss the matter, but the president canceled, criticizing what he described as their long list of “demands.” Schumer later blasted the OMB memo as “an attempt at intimidation,” accusing Trump of using layoffs to instill fear rather than to govern effectively.

“Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one—not to govern, but to scare,” Schumer said. He argued the firings had nothing to do with the stopgap bill and predicted that either the courts would reverse them or the administration would be forced to rehire the workers, as had happened recently.

The standoff has raised concerns of another government shutdown, similar to the one in late 2018, when federal offices across the country closed their doors. If Congress fails again to secure a funding deal by the end of the month, thousands of workers and critical programs may once more be left in limbo.