“I’d rather not do that.”Last week, Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought, warned agencies to prepare for mass firings in the event of a government shutdown. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries have dismissed the Trump administration's mass firing threats in the event of a shutdown. Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one—not to govern, but to scare,” Schumer said in a statement. We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings. House Majority Leader Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home until Oct. 7, a week after the deadline to fund the government.