Kaitlan Collins busts Leavitt on layoffs blame: 'Wouldn't that be the president's call?'

CNN's Kaitlan Collins called out White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt after she blamed Democrats for any government employee layoffs that might take place during the ongoing government shutdown.

During Monday's White House briefing, Collins questioned Leavitt about President Donald Trump's repeated claim that Democrats would be to blame if the his administration were to order mass layoffs.

"On the layoff of federal workers, potentially, the president said yesterday that Democrats will be to blame if federal workers lose their jobs," the CNN reporter noted. "Historically, though, in past shutdowns, workers have been furloughed, but they have not been laid off en masse."

"So wouldn't that be the President's call to lay people off?" she asked.

"As I've said repeatedly, Kaitlan, this conversation about layoffs would not be happening right now if the Democrats did not vote to shut the government down," Leavitt shot back. "Someone has to look at the balance sheet and be good stewards of the American taxpayer dollar. And layoffs are an unfortunate consequence of that."

Collins pointed out that Trump did not lay off workers when the government was shut down in his first term.

"Well, as I'm telling you now, this administration is focusing on checking the balance sheet and ensuring we're doing the right thing by the American taxpayer," Leavitt insisted. "And again, these conversations about layoffs would not be happening in the White House today if not for the Democrat shutdown."

"And they have a choice to change that," she added. "They have another opportunity tonight to do the right thing to reopen the government."