Congressional Democrats have shut down the federal government over demands that President Donald Trump agree to increase spending by $1.5 trillion, including funding that would flow to big insurance companies, illegal immigrants, abortions, and gender transition procedures. Those outrageous demands are unrelated to the annual spending bills that fund agency operations, and the President is correct to reject them.
Once Democrats agree to the seven-week clean continuing resolution already passed by the House of Representatives, attention will turn to funding the government through the remainder of the fiscal year.
That is when President Trump and Republicans in Congress should commit to protecting the American people by eliminating the hundreds of thousands of nonessential government bureaucrats that cost taxpayers nearly $150 billion per year.
As President Trump posted on Truth Social, “Republicans must use this opportunity of Democrat forced closure to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud. Billions of Dollars can be saved. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Shutdown is Really a Slowdown
While the current situation is commonly reported as a government “shutdown,” it could be more accurately described as a “temporary slowdown in nonessential government activities.”
Three-fourths of federal spending continues on autopilot, including the largest programs in the budget such as Social Security, Medicare, and interest on the national debt. Likewise, nearly three-fourths of the 2.2 million federal civilian workforce remain on the job.
More than 800,000 federal workers (37%) continue getting their paychecks as normal because they are funded outside the annual appropriations process by autopilot, multi-year, or advance appropriations. That includes about 40,000 IRS employees and more than 400,000 workers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Another 700,000 employees are deemed essential to protect life and property, carry out the President’s constitutional responsibilities, or keep necessary operations running. That includes 13,000 air traffic controllers and 63,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees.
30% of the Federal Workforce is Designated Nonessential
What’s left are more than 650,000 federal bureaucrats (about 30% of the workforce) who are not essential.
It is an insult to taxpayers to borrow billions to continue paying nonessential bureaucrats.
Even the Biden Administration recognized that much of the federal workforce is not essential. Shutdown plans prepared under President Joe Biden designated more than 870,000 bureaucrats (38% of the workforce) as nonessential. The Trump Administration is actually keeping more federal workers on the job than the Biden Administration would have during a shutdown.
Costs of Nonessential Bureaucrats are Staggering
The costs of carrying a large nonessential workforce are staggering. Based on Congressional Budget Office data, I estimate the cost of nonessential employees would be $146 billion in fiscal year 2026 and $1.6 trillion over the next decade. The interest costs on the debt required to finance those positions would add another $288 billion, bringing the total to more than $1.9 trillion. The costs of pensions and other benefits would be much higher over the long term.
The Trump Administration has already taken steps to cut this waste. Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russ Vought issued a memo instructing agencies to prepare reduction in force (RIF) notices for nonessential employees.
The law is clear. The Antideficiency Act prohibits federal activities, other than limited exceptions for life, property, and other necessary duties, unless a valid appropriation is provided. The Democrats have halted funding for these nonessential employees. The Trump Administration is only fulfilling its responsibilities under the law by moving to eliminate those positions rather than pretending funding exists.
But the RIFs will only stick if Congress does its part to defund unneeded agencies and activities. The OMB memo tells agencies to “revise their RIFs as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions” once full-year 2026 appropriations are finalized.
None of this is to deny that job losses could be painful for those affected. But no government bureaucrat is entitled to the taxpayers’ money forever.
With their employer – the American people – more than $37 trillion in debt and running a $2 trillion annual deficit, the status quo is not sustainable.
Stop Funding Nonessential Government Employees
The immediate task for Congress is to reopen the government.
But the most important responsibility is to right-size Washington. This “temporary slowdown” should be a catalyst to impose lasting discipline. Congress and President Trump should never again provide a penny of taxpayer funds for nonessential government activities.
