Mike Johnson sidesteps whether he supports Trump's threat of mass layoffs during shutdown

The White House budget chief said Oct. 1 that the administration would start firing federal employees in the next "one to two days." They have not followed through on that threat.

House Speaker Mike Johnson declined to say Thursday whether he supports President Donald Trump's threat to fire furloughed federal workers if the government shutdown continues.

Johnson, R-La., sidestepped a question about his position on Trump's bid to permanently reduce the government workforce in an interview with NBC News' Tom Llamas for "Top Story."

"I support — look, we’re limited-government conservatives, and there is too much inefficiency in the federal government. It’s too large. It does too many things," Johnson said, before he defended government workers.

"There are programs that probably should be eliminated, but we want federal employees to be protected," he added.

Johnson then pivoted to the issue of furloughed workers’ getting paid after the shutdown ends, saying the law guarantees federal employees back pay.