A Trump administration official said in a call to Republicans that the mass firings of federal employees would begin "in a day or two" of the government shutdown. They are unfortunately a consequence of this government shutdown.' "Not complain about how we respond to the fact that Chuck Schumer and the Democrats have shut down the government in the first place." "It's October 1st, and it's the first day of Donald Trump's government shutdown," Schumer wrote on social media. "Donald Trump and Republicans have barreled us into a shutdown because they refused to protect Americans healthcare."