Connecticut state leaders spent Tuesday bracing for the first federal government shutdown in seven years.

In the past, shutdowns have had a limited impact here. But this one could be different because President Donald Trump is threatening to permanently fire federal workers who are furloughed.

Trump said Tuesday that “we may do a lot” of layoffs, “and it’s only because of the Democrats.”

That could be bad news at the Veterans Administration hospital in West Haven. Even before the looming shutdown, the VA already planned to eliminate 30,000 jobs nationwide.

“If we are hurting as bad as we are – alright, you want to do these cuts? But take it out of your own pocket to put it in our pockets,” said U.S. Navy Veteran Richard Deso.

Under a shutdown, clinics like West Haven will remain open, but some call centers and regional benefits offices would close.

Connecticut has 10,247 federal employees, according to government records. Many are considered “essential” and will have to keep working without pay. That includes VA clinicians, the Naval base in Groton, TSA airport screeners, air traffic controllers, most IRS workers and most Social Security Administration – although the exact is unclear, because many federal agencies have not yet issued contingency plans.

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is also expected to continue, although a prolonged shutdown could lead to immigration court backlogs.

State leaders spent Tuesday meeting with agency heads to assess the full impact of a federal shutdown.

“We’ve got all of our commissioners doing a deep dive right now.” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “What of their programs will be impacted? When? How many of their employees are subsidized by the federal government?”

Local schools could take a hit because the U.S. Education Department plans to furlough nearly all of its workers. The Trump administration has already made deep staffing cuts to the agency.

In the short term, SNAP and HUSKY Medicaid benefits should go out as scheduled, but staff furloughs could lead to delays.

In Washington, the stalemate is over health care. Republicans don’t have enough votes to pass a short-term funding bill, but Democrats are insisting that deep cuts to Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies be restored.

“It’s easily avoidable if Republicans will just agree to save health care for millions of Americans,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

Millions of people could face higher insurance premiums if the health care subsidies expire at the end of the year. Congress first put them in place in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to expand coverage for low- and middle-income people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats say they want the subsidies immediately extended. They have also demanded that Republicans reverse the Medicaid cuts that were enacted as a part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” this summer and for the White House to promise it will not move to rescind spending passed by Congress.

“This is purely and simply hostage taking on behalf of the Democrats,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).

The government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if the U.S. Senate does not pass a House measure that would extend federal funding for seven weeks while lawmakers finish their work on annual spending bills.

Senate Democrats say they won’t vote for it unless Republicans include an extension of expiring health care benefits, among other demands. President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans are so far refusing to negotiate, arguing that it’s a stripped-down, “clean” bill that should be noncontroversial.

Top members of Congress from both parties met with Trump at the White House on Monday, but the gathering yielded little progress.

“They lost the election in a landslide, and they don’t change,” Trump said Tuesday morning.

The last shutdown was in Trump’s first term, from December 2018 to January 2019, when he demanded that Congress give him money for his U.S.-Mexico border wall. Trump retreated after 35 days – the longest shutdown ever – amid intensifying airport delays and missed paydays for federal workers.