OMB’s Russell Vought is firing federal employees with one hand and impounding the funds to pay them with another. Photo: Tom Brenner/The New York Times/Redux With a government shutdown set to begin at midnight on Friday, all eyes are on the U.S. Senate right now. But it’s important to understand that the federal government is being progressively shut down by the Trump administration through means other than denying appropriations. Thursday is a big deadline for federal agencies, which will