File this under "unintended consequences" for Democrats.
With the Schumer Shutdown in full sway, and Democrats sizzling like a hot dog on Chuck Schumer's grill, President Trump is taking the opportunity to look into which federal agencies are "a political scam" and can therefore be the subject of staffing cuts, temporary or permanent.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he’s working to determine which "Democrat" agencies will face cuts after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on a government funding package.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he was meeting with Russell Vought, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, later Thursday to discuss which agencies "are a political SCAM." The president said he wanted Vought to recommend which agencies should face cuts and whether those cuts should be temporary or permanent.
"I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity," read Trump’s post. "They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
I might question the president on the "...not stupid people" claim. Some of them are, in all candor, stupid people. But some are not, and it's enough to make one wonder what they're playing at. Some of them are likely savvy enough to realize their party is imploding after the takeover by the "progressive" left, and are trying to shore up enough support from their base to keep them from shrinking into irrelevance.
Vice President Vance seems to favor that idea.
Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday accused Democrats of forcing the shutdown over providing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded emergency healthcare and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., fearing a primary challenge from progressive "Squad" member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
"But the reality here, and let’s be honest about the politics, is that Chuck Schumer is terrified he’s going to get a primary challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez," Vance said. "The reason why the American people’s government is shut down is because Chuck Schumer is listening to the far-left radicals in his own party because he’s terrified of a primary challenge."
That would be a plausible explanation, and AOC has made no bones about her ambitions for higher office.
Read More: Now There's Another Democrat Opposing the Schumer Shutdown? Who Saw That Coming?
Food Fight! Dems Turn on Each Other As Married MSNBC Hosts Throw Down Over Schumer Shutdown
The president took to his Truth Social account to announce a Thursday meeting with OMB Director Vought.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 2, 2025
What comes out of that meeting remains to be seen, but if it's something that results in any scaling back of the Brobdingnagian monster that the federal government has become, most Republicans will see it as an unqualified win. One thing is certain: Democrats may have miscalculated badly and handed President Trump an opportunity here.
It's an interesting time. The Republicans didn't engineer this shutdown. This is a Democrat shutdown, and the Democrats own it. The GOP should hang it around the Democrats' necks like an albatross as we go into the midterms, which are still more than a year away - but it's not too soon to start prepping the messaging. The main message here? As we have been documenting for days now, this shutdown is primarily over one issue: Taxpayer-funded health benefits for illegal aliens.
That's another 80-20 issue the Democrats are on the wrong side of; one of many. And it's another reason why these people cannot be allowed to regain the majority, lest they throw open the borders again and continue to spend the nation into penury.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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