USDA says SNAP benefits won't be issued on Nov. 1

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said Wednesday in an interview with "The Charlie Kirk" show that he expects "more than 10,000" federal workers to be cut while the government remains closed.

"We're definitely talking thousands of people. Much of the reporting has been based on, kind of court snapshots, which they've articulated," Vought went on, referencing OMB's court filings in a labor union-led lawsuit against the Trump administration's cuts.

"But that's just a snapshot, and I think it'll get much higher. And we're going to keep those RIFs rolling throughout the shutdown, because we think it's important to stay on offense for the American taxpayer and the American people," Vought, the co-author of Project 2025, added.

When asked about what agencies and programs might be, or have been, cut during the shutdown, Vought said "Green New Deal programs at the Department of Energy," the "Minority Business Development Agency at Commerce – that divvies up business grants on the basis of race," he went on: "environmental justice at EPA," and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries accepted an invitation to appear on C-SPAN together though a date is not yet finalized, according to a release from C-SPAN.

"C-SPAN looks forward to providing a forum for a smart, civil, respectful exchange of ideas between both leaders," according to a post on X. C-SPAN said it is working with both offices on scheduling the joint appearance.

This rare appearance will occur on C-SPAN’s "Ceasefire" program, which is hosted by Politico's Dasha Burns. It comes after Johnson joined C-SPAN last week to take phone calls from people across the country impacted by the government shutdown, including a military mom who had begged him to pass a standalone bill to pay the troops.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

A group of mostly Democratic lawmakers penned a letter to White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought requesting an immediate clarification that federal workers will receive back pay at the conclusion of the government shutdown.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is one of the lead signatories. However, she is the only Republican to sign on to the bicameral letter that has over 100 additional Democratic members signed on.

The lawmakers applaud President Donald Trump for previously signing legislation that guarantees back pay for federal workers. They say the law needs to be enforced.

"The law is clear: all impacted government employees, regardless of excepted or furloughed status, are entitled to back pay after a government shutdown ends, which is consistent with the guidance currently provided by federal agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management," the letter reads.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

House Republicans are watching their seven-week stop-gap measure to fund the federal government gradually lose its utility, as Senate Democrats run out the clock on the House-passed bill and leave lawmakers at a shatterproof impasse with no end in sight.

Since passing their bill on Sept. 19, House Republicans have argued their clean continuing resolution would afford appropriators sufficient time to pass all 12 appropriations bills through regular order -- a monumental task that hasn't occurred on Capitol Hill since 1997. Johnson wants to buck the trend of backroom deals cut by the four corners of power in Congress.

"It just gives us some more time to have that negotiation. And by the way, that clock is getting sooner every day, November 21st," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Wednesday. "That date is going to get closer every day -- where we're not going to have as much time to negotiate our differences."

The House has canceled three weeks of legislative business during the shutdown, and the speaker says he will not bring lawmakers back to Washington until the deadlock breaks.

-ABC News' John Parkinson