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Donald Trump is leveraging the current government shutdown to implement aggressive budget cuts, utilizing Russ Vought, director of Project 2025, as his "grim reaper" enforcer. Vought, a conservative policy architect, is poised to make significant reductions to "Democrat agencies," threatening both temporary and permanent cuts to federal programs. This strategic move capitalizes on the shutdown's legal ambiguities to exert greater control over government spending and staffing, a plan long in the making by conservative groups.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.