With infrastructure projects frozen in Democratic states, "imminent" layoffs of civil servants, and now the planned elimination of federal agencies, Donald Trump stepped up pressure on the Democratic opposition on Thursday, on the second day of a budget impasse with no apparent solution.

The US president stated on his Truth Social platform that he would meet with his White House budget director, Russ Vought, later today "to determine which Democratic agencies, many of which are political SCAMs, he recommends eliminating, and whether those closures should be temporary or permanent."

"I can't believe the left-wing extremist Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity," he added, referring to the budget stalemate in Congress, which plunged the United States into a "shutdown" on Wednesday, with part of the federal administration shutting down.

Several hundred thousand civil servants, whose functions are considered "non-essential", have been placed on technical unemployment and disruptions are expected for users of public services.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association of America (NATCA) said in a statement that it fears for airspace safety due to the layoff of more than 2,300 of its members.

Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said Thursday on CNBC that the budget shutdown would "deal a blow to GDP, a blow to growth, and a blow to working America."

- "Thousands" of layoffs -

The shutdowns, unprecedented in seven years, are very unpopular in the United States, and each side blames the other.

"Real suffering is being inflicted on Americans," warned House Republican leader Mike Johnson, denouncing the Democrats' refusal to support a Republican bill.

His Democratic counterpart in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, argued that Donald Trump was displaying "irresponsible and unserious behavior."

A poll published Thursday by the Washington Post shows that of 1,000 Americans surveyed, 47% blame Donald Trump and Republicans for the blockage, and 30% blame Democrats.

Donald Trump, for his part, makes no secret of the fact that he wants the opposition to pay for the impasse.

"A lot of good things can come out of the shutdowns, we can get rid of a lot of things we don't want, and those would be Democratic things," he warned on Tuesday.

The following day, the White House spokeswoman spoke of "imminent" layoffs of civil servants if the blockade persisted, specifying on Thursday that she expected them to number in the "thousands."

The government also announced the cancellation of $26 billion in federal funds promised to Democratic-led states, including $18 billion in New York, a Democratic stronghold represented by leading Democrats Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries.

- Three Democrats -

Beyond the threats, the presidential majority hopes that a sufficient number of Democratic senators will eventually give in and vote in favor of the Republican text.

While Republicans hold majorities in both houses of Congress, Senate rules require them to have at least eight Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to pass a budget.

For now, the opposition representatives do not seem to want to budge. In the last votes, only three Democrats joined the majority.

In any case, Hakeem Jeffries argued on Wednesday, layoffs and targeted cuts are "what the Trump administration has been doing since January 20," the date the Republican billionaire returned to power.

At the current stage of the negotiations, Republicans are proposing a simple extension of the current budget until the end of November, while Democrats are demanding the extension of public health insurance programs for the poorest, denouncing the sharp cuts in health spending decided by the Trump administration.

The situation will not be resolved until Friday at the earliest, as no vote is expected in Congress on Thursday due to the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.