President Donald J. Trump just did what career politicians in Washington have avoided for decades — he told the truth about government waste and gave Democrats a deadline: either end the shutdown, or face massive, permanent cuts to bloated federal jobs and programs that taxpayers shouldn’t be funding in the first place.

On Tuesday, speaking to reporters amid yet another Democrat-driven government shutdown, Trump made it clear that if the standoff drags on another four or five days, the pink slips start flying. And honestly, it’s about time someone cleaned house.

When a reporter asked how many jobs could be eliminated, Trump didn’t flinch:

“I’ll be able to tell you that in four or five days. If this keeps going on, it’ll be substantial, and a lot of those jobs will never come back,” he said.

Translation: the gravy train’s about to derail. For years, federal agencies have ballooned with redundant programs, wasteful spending, and political activism masquerading as “public service.” Trump isn’t threatening — he’s fixing.

Asked whether specific programs had been identified for elimination, the president smiled and replied:

“Oh, sure. We have a lot, I’m not going to tell you, but we’ll be announcing it pretty soon. But we have a lot of things that we’re going to eliminate and permanently eliminate.”

That’s classic Trump — not tipping his hand, but letting the bureaucracy know the clock’s ticking. He went on to add:

“Because of the shutdown, which I think they made a big mistake, we’re able to take out billions and billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse — and they’ve handed it to us on a silver platter.”

In other words, Democrats handed Trump the perfect opportunity to do what no other president has dared to do: streamline the federal government and bring back fiscal sanity.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus continue to dig in, rejecting another continuing resolution and demanding more money for — get this — Medicaid reimbursements for illegal aliens and expanded Obamacare subsidies. Because nothing screams “Democratic priorities” like spending more of your tax dollars on people who broke the law to get here.

The White House confirmed that discussions about layoffs are already happening. Last week, Trump and his Office of Management and Budget Director met to review potential cuts, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt telling the Daily Caller:

“Unfortunately, because the Democrats shut down the government, the president has directed his cabinet and OMB to identify where cuts can be made — and we believe layoffs are imminent.”

And make no mistake — the president isn’t bluffing. He’s been on the phone with Democrats all week, many of whom, he joked, claim to be “leaders of the party,” though he hasn’t heard of half of them. Maybe that’s because, like most of their policies, their leadership’s a complete illusion.

The message from Trump is simple: stop the political games, reopen the government, or watch your bureaucratic empire shrink for good.

For decades, Washington insiders have treated the taxpayer like an ATM — and Trump’s finally changing that. If this shutdown means the permanent elimination of wasteful programs, redundant positions, and leftist pet projects buried inside federal agencies, then maybe this isn’t a crisis at all.

It’s a long-overdue correction — and one that puts America First. ??