Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) praised President Trump for being “willing to take the heat” after furloughing thousands of federal workers. fired from job During the government shutdown.
“What’s interesting, if you look, is that Trump has now started systematically firing people permanently,” Gingrich said Sunday.cats round tableRadio show hosted by John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM. “I think the gamble that Trump is taking is that he can really dramatically change the federal government during the shutdown.”
Gingrich added, “He’s willing to take the heat because, frankly, while he’s busy going to the Middle East to be part of the peace treaty signing, which is amazing, he’s got other big things on, so he’s not particularly bothered.”
But it can become “a separate issue” when military service members don’t get their pay. Next salary on 15th October Should the government remain shut down, Gingrich told Catsimatidis.
Gingrich said, “Frankly, I think Republicans should consider passing a military pay bill and see if Democrats are willing to vote to defund the military.”
Catsimatidis and Gingrich also discussed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees going without pay, which Gingrich said lawmakers should also consider.
“The people who are shutting down this government are led by the Senate Democrats [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and my guess is that Trump will stick around as long as he needs to,” Gingrich said.
On Friday, a filing from the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that 4,100 federal employees were laid off, Involved 1,446 Treasury Department employees and dozens of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees, including those investigating the disease outbreak.
Federal employee unions have said they will challenge the dismissals in court. Democrats and some Republicans criticized the layoffsHe said these moves turn federal employees into political pawns.
After House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) Said There will be no vote Saturday on a standalone bill to fund military personnel and FAA air traffic controllers, Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will use “all available funds” to ensure timely payments to military service members.
The Department of Defense (DOD) has “identified approximately $8 billion of unrestricted Research Development Test and Evaluation (RDTE) funds from the prior fiscal year that will be used to issue mid-month pay checks to service members if the funding lapse continues beyond October 15,” a DOD official told The Hill on Saturday.
