President Donald Trump is making this government shutdown unlike any the country has ever seen. The White House 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, the Office and Management and Budget said Tuesday it's preparing to "batten down the hatches" with more reductions in force to come. The president calls budget chief Vought the "grim reaper" who's seized on the opportunity to fund Trump's priorities, paying the military while slashing employees in health, education, the sciences and other areas. The actions have been criticized as illegal and are facing court challenges.

President Donald Trump is now openly embracing the conservative blueprint he desperately tried to distance himself from during the 2024 campaign. In a post on his Truth Social site Thursday morning, Trump announced he would be meeting with his budget chief, "Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame," to discuss which federal agencies should be cut and whether the cuts should be permanent. Trump's comments represent a dramatic about-face after he and his campaign spent much of last year denouncing the massive proposed overhaul of the federal government that was drafted by many longtime allies and current and former administration officials.

President Donald Trump has used the government shutdown to reshape the federal workforce and target detractors. The president says he'll be meeting Thursday with budget director Russ Vought to discuss potential spending cuts. Trump has already suggested slashing Democratic priorities and mass firings of federal workers. Vought has already withheld funds for projects in New York and canceled green energy projects in Democratic states. Congress remains at a standstill on legislation to end the shutdown, with Democrats demanding concessions on health care. Congress has no action scheduled Thursday in observance of the Jewish holy day, virtually guaranteeing the shutdown will last into Friday.

 Just 1 in 4 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump's policies have helped them. That's according to a new AP-NORC poll that finds underwhelming marks for the Republican president on key issues, including the economy, immigration, government spending and health care. Overall, Trump fails to earn majority approval on any of the issues included in the poll. A majority of Americans see Trump as at least somewhat capable of getting things done following the passage of his sprawling budget bill. The mixed reviews come six months into Trump's term as he struggles to follow through on some campaign promises, including lowering costs for working-class Americans, preserving programs like Medicaid and lowering government spending.

For a year, Project 2025 has endured as a persistent force in the presidential election. It's rare for a complex 900-page policy book to figure so dominantly in a political campaign. But the far-right proposals are being deployed by Democrats as a warning for Donald Trump's potential second-term agenda. Trump says he knows "nothing" about the Heritage Foundation project, which was organized by his former administration officials. The rise and fall and potential rise again of Project 2025 shows the unexpected ability of policy to light up the election and threaten not only Trump atop the ticket but down-ballot Republicans in races for Congress. Heritage's Kevin Roberts insists they "will not back down."