President Donald Trump has seized on the government shutdown as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce and punish detractors, by threatening mass firings of workers and suggesting “irreversible” cuts to programs important to Democrats.

As of Sept. 23, over 201,000 civil servants have left the workforce and the White House is threatening additional cuts.

The government shutdown continues with no Senate session today, eliminating chances for votes to reopen the government. The Office of Management and Budget warns layoffs will begin in days, with an estimated 750,

The Senate is not voting as it observes Yom Kippur on Thursday, so the earliest senators could vote again on a new funding measure is Friday.

“Two days, imminent, very soon,” Leavitt said in describing the timing of the RIFs. She added President Trump has directed his entire cabinet to develop layoff plans and the Office of Management and Budget is working with agencies “across the board to identify where cuts can be made.”

As a bitter standoff between Republicans and Democrats plays out, there is little sign that either side is willing to budge.

The White House warns RIFs will happen “very soon.” But it’s unclear which agencies will pursue employee layoffs in a shutdown — or how fast they could occur.

The federal government was thrown into a shutdown with no easy endgame in sight. Democrats held firm Wednesday to their demands to salvage health care subsidies that President Donald Trump and Republican in Congress have refused to negotiate.

The federal government shutdown began at midnight as President Trump and Democrats blamed each other for failing to reach an agreement.

Laying off scores of federal workers may be part of "extraordinary steps" that will be taken soon, Vance said on the first day of the shutdown

Since 1980, there have been 10 government shutdowns that led to furloughs, which have lasted on average about nine days. While most haven't lasted longer than a week (some ended after a few hours), the most recent shutdown that began in December 2018 lasted 35 days.