With the federal government all but certain to shut down at midnight Tuesday, White House aides and one senior official sounded the alarm on what they say is a golden opportunity for the Trump administration to complete what it started in hollowing out the federal government. And, while Musk and others wildly overinflated the savings DOGE recouped – savings that were entirely eradicated with Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act – a senior White House official warned that the government shutdown would be the Trump administration’s chance to finish “what DOGE couldn’t do.”“He’s wanted to hurt the bureaucracy; he’s wanted to shrink the bureaucracy,” a senior White House official told The Atlantic in a report published Tuesday, specifically referencing White House budget director Russell Vought, and speaking with the outlet on the condition of anonymity. “This might be his chance.”Trump has already signaled as much: in a memo from the White House, the Trump administration outlined reduction-in-force plans in the event of a government shutdown, plans that essentially mean mass firings are on the table. As to who might be targeted in said mass firings, multiple White House aides said positions that don’t align with Trump’s agenda would likely be the target. “Now Trump is using the threat of permanent job cuts to specifically target jobs that don’t align with his priorities, aides told us.