Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, reportedly told House Republicans on Wednesday that the Trump administration would begin firing federal workers in “one to two” days.

Less than a day into the government shutdown, Vought signaled that the administration was keeping its promise to use this time to get rid of more federal employees – a continuation of their goal to slash the federal workforce that began earlier this year.

Vought, an architect of Project 2025, did not specify where the firings would begin, such as a specific department or specific type of employee. Earlier this year, probationary employees, or those who are newly in their position, were among the first to be fired.

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Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, reacted to the Trump administration pausing infrastructure projects in New York in an MSNBC interview Wednesday night.

Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, announced Wednesday morning, roughly $18 billion in New York City’s Hudson Tunnel Project and Second Ave Subway have been put on hold because of “DEI principles.”

The Pentagon plans to introduce mandatory non-disclosure agreements and lie detector tests for thousands of people, a new report reveals.

Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon plans to require that some staff sign NDAs that prohibit the “release of non-public information without approval or through a defined process” and subsequently take random polygraph tests, according to a draft memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg reviewed by The Washington Post.

“The protection of sensitive information is paramount to our national security, the safety of our warfighters, and the preservation of critical decision space for our senior leaders,” Feinberg wrote.

The new orders would apply to an estimated 5,000 people working in the Office of the Defense Secretary and the Joint Staff, including military service members, civilian employees and contractors, the Post reports.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune has left the door open on talks about the healthcare negotiations that Democrats want amid the government shutdown.

Thune said he’s willing to talk about how a negotiation on Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year might work once the government is open if a “critical mass” of Democrats back the GOP’s funding bill.

“I keep telling them: When they have eight or 10 — preferably 10, or more — when they have a critical mass, let me know if there’s a conversation they want to have,” Thune told Politico.

Democrats have demanded the reversal of cuts to Medicaid, set out earlier this year in Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful, Bill,” and an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies to support a spending plan.

Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, called federal messaging blaming Democrats for the government shutdown “illegal” in a CNN interview Wednesday night.

Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Democrat, trolled Democrat senators who voted against a GOP funding bill to keep the government open.

Cruz took a page out of President Donald Trump’s playbook by digitally adding sombreros and handlebar mustaches to the lawmakers’ faces. Trump posted two AI-generated videos depicting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a similar fashion.

The trolling seems to be geared toward the Republicans baseless claim that Democrats are demanding undocumented immigrants get free healthcare as they push to reverse Medicaid cuts, set out earlier this year in Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful, Bill,” and an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies in exchange for their support on a funding bill.

Trump has faced backlash for these videos, which critics call racist, but Vice President JD Vance shrugged them off as “funny.”

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins confronted Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, about the Trump administration pausing infrastructure projects in his state.

Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, announced Wednesday morning, roughly $18 billion in New York City’s Hudson Tunnel Project and Second Ave Subway have been put on hold because of “DEI principles.”

Vought later announced nearly $8 billion in climate-related projects in 16 states were being canceled.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, has urged her colleagues to “find a resolution” amid the government shutdown.

Senator Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, has said she trusts Chuck Schumer’s leadership as the party digs in their heels amid the government shutdown.

Democrats are demanding the reversal of cuts to Medicaid, set out earlier this year in Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful, Bill,” and an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies to support a spending plan.

When asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Wednesday night if she trusts Senator Schumer’s leadership, Smith said, “ I do trust Chuck's leadership on this. I think he's been very strong. I think the caucus is almost completely united around him.

“And we all feel like this is a very important moment to really be fighting for something that's gonna make a big difference to our constituents.”

CNN’s Jake Tapper has confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries over healthcare for undocumented immigrants.

As Democrats push to reverse cuts to Medicaid, set out earlier this year in Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful, Bill,” Republicans have accused them of trying to fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants, despite the group not being eligible for federal healthcare programs, aside from emergency services.

“What you support  does bring back funding for emergency Medicaid to hospitals, some of which does pay for undocumented immigrants and people who don't have health insurance,” Tapper told Jeffries in a Wednesday interview, “ Why even include that in a bill knowing that they're going to seize right upon that?”

Jeffries responded:  “What we're doing is fighting to protect the healthcare of the American people against the largest cut to Medicaid ever. 14 million American citizens are gonna lose their healthcare as a result of what Republicans [did].”

“ By the way, current federal law is clear. Taxpayer dollars cannot be spent on Medicaid, Medicare, or the Affordable Care Act related to undocumented immigrants. And not a single Democrat has raised the issue of trying to reverse that federal law,” the Democratic leader added.

The 14 million figure also factors in Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire by the end of the year. Democrats are also pushing Republicans to extend these subsidies.