President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that prolonged inaction in Congress could lead to significant reductions in the federal workforce and cuts to government programs, as the standoff over government funding entered another week.

The warning came one day after Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), voted to block a continuing resolution that would have temporarily reopened the government.

The rejection extended the ongoing shutdown, which began after both chambers failed to agree on a short-term funding bill.

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Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Trump said he expected to make decisions about potential layoffs and program eliminations within days if the shutdown continues.

“I’ll be able to tell you that in four or five days. If this keeps going on, it’ll be substantial, and a lot of those jobs will never come back,” Trump said.

“You’re going to have a lot closer to a balanced budget.”

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The president’s comments followed questions about how many positions could be affected.

When pressed about whether he had identified specific programs for elimination, Trump said his administration had already identified multiple targets but declined to provide details.

“Oh, sure. We have a lot, I’m not going to tell you, but we’ll be announcing it pretty soon,” he said.

“But we have a lot of things that we’re going to eliminate and permanently eliminate.”

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Trump described the shutdown as an opportunity to review government spending and address inefficiencies within the federal system.

“You know, one of the things that we have as some advantage, you could say, but because of the shutdown, which I think they made a big mistake, we’re able to take out billions and billions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse, and they’ve handed it, you know, to us on a silver platter,” the president said.

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The current impasse stems largely from disagreements over health care funding.

Democrats have insisted that any spending bill include expanded Medicaid reimbursements for states covering illegal aliens and increased subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

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Republicans, meanwhile, have pushed for a short-term “clean” funding measure to maintain current spending levels while broader negotiations continue.

Administration officials have been reviewing cost-cutting measures in preparation for the possibility that the shutdown could continue.

Last week, President Trump met with his Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director to discuss potential layoffs and areas for permanent spending reductions.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the discussions in a statement to the Daily Caller, saying the administration was prepared to act if the deadlock persisted.

“Unfortunately, because the Democrats shut down the government, the president has directed his cabinet and the Office of Management and Budget is working with agencies across the board to identify where cuts can be made and we believe that layoffs are imminent,” Leavitt said.

Although no layoffs have been announced, officials said agencies have been instructed to begin identifying non-essential positions and duplicative programs for possible elimination.

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During his remarks, President Trump said he had received calls from several Democratic lawmakers seeking meetings but suggested that the party’s leadership was disorganized.

“I’ve been getting calls from Democrats who want to meet with me and are claiming to be the leader of the party,” he told reporters.

“Some of the names I’ve never heard of.”

With no resolution yet in sight, the administration continues to signal that it will move forward with cost-saving measures if Congress fails to approve a new funding plan.

The president reiterated that he remains open to negotiations but will not agree to what he characterized as excessive partisan spending demands.

The shutdown marks one of the most consequential fiscal standoffs of Trump’s second term, with both sides standing firm on issues of health care funding, immigration policy, and federal spending priorities.