Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-New Haven), one of the top budget negotiators on Capitol Hill, urged fellow lawmakers to reach a deal to reopen the federal government on Friday.

The plea came as the Trump administration raised the stakes, announcing that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers.

Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on the social media site X that the “RIFs have begun,” referring to reduction-in-force plans aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.

A spokesperson for the budget office, said the reductions are “substantial” but did not offer more immediate details.

Without a deal, DeLauro warned that nearly 150,000 residents on Connecticut’s Obamacare exchange – Access Health CT – could see major premium hikes soon.

“A family of four living in Milford who has an income of $130,000 now pays $921 a month,” DeLauro said. “They’re now going to pay $2,800 a month.”

On Jan. 1, more than 33,000 Connecticut residents will lose all their Affordable Care Act subsidies – and many more will lose part of their assistance.

Extending those subsidies is at the heart of the government shutdown.

“I now am paying $2,309 a month,” Tonya Maurer, of Hebron, recently told state lawmakers. “How many of you are paying that?”

Frustrations are mounting in Washington. Now, some Republicans are pushing for a compromise.

“I’m not putting the blame on the president. I’m actually putting the blame on the speaker and leader soon in the Senate. This this should not be happening,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told CNN. “We control the House; we control the Senate. We have the White House."

To end the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is now offering to hold a vote on ACA are subsidies – but only after Democrats approve a continuing resolution to at least temporarily fund the government.

DeLauro said she doesn’t trust Thune’s promise.

“Ha, are you joking?” she said on Friday. “I keep saying this; I’ve got a bridge I want to sell you.”

DeLauro said she wants a vote on subsidies now – before premium hike notices go out to Access Health CT enrollees later this month.

The shutdown is threatening food assistance for families. This week, Gov. Ned Lamont authorized Connecticut to use $200,000 a day of reserve funds to keep the Women Infants and Children program going.

The program provides food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to health and social services to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women along with infants and children under 5.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said it’s important to continue the program during this time.

“It reduces food insecurity,” she said on Wednesday. “It makes sure that moms who are nursing and pregnant have the nutrition that they need and that infants and children from low-income families have the food they need to thrive.”

The program is administered by the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and 52,000 residents receive support, including 30,000 children.

“If there was no state fallback, then we would pretty much – probably be looking at shut down very soon,” said Hartford Health and Human Services Director Ebony Jackson-Shahee.

LIHEAP, the Low Income Heating Assistance Program, could run into money shortages next month. HUSKY Medicaid funding is funded through early next year, according to the Connecticut Department of Social Services.

If the shutdown drags on, however, state lawmakers may have to approve emergency funding in a special session, which is now expected to happen in November.