WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is making this government shutdown unlike any the nation has ever seen. The White House’s budget office headed by Russ Vought is deciding who gets paid or fired in an unprecedented restructuring across the federal workforce. As the shutdown enters its third week, Trump said some of the programs favored by Democrats are “never going to come back.” The president calls budget chief Vought the “grim reaper,” and Vought has seized on the opportunity to fund Trump’s priorities, paying the military while slashing jobs in health, education, the sciences and other areas. The actions have been criticized as illegal and are facing court challenges.
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