Russell Vought, Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), directed federal agencies yesterday to prepare for another round of mass firings if the government shuts down on Wednesday, October 1. Several previous efforts by Vought to conduct mass firings of federal workers have been struck down in court.

The OMB memo comes as negotiations on the federal budget have hit a standstill. The administration attempted to place the blame for the disorder on Congressional Democrats, who are pushing to protect affordable health care.

Following the announcement, the BlueGreen Alliance released a statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh:

“This has nothing to do with the budget. Vought is a one-trick pony whose answer to every problem is, ‘Fire hard-working Americans.’ He and Trump are cravenly using the chaos created by a Republican-controlled Congress that can’t do its job as cover to conduct more illegal firings. Instead of owning the poor leadership that led to this point, Vought is holding civil servants’ livelihoods hostage. We’re already in a Trump Slump caused by the awful decisions of the administration, and idiotic actions like mass firings of vital workers will only drag us further down.”