WASHINGTON: Federal employees across the United States are experiencing severe financial hardship due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Mark, a civil servant with over 20 years of experience, has decided to leave his government position following this latest shutdown.
He described a Trump administration effort to vilify and diminish federal employees as unlike anything he had previously encountered.
The current shutdown began on October 1 after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on a temporary spending plan.
Essential workers like air traffic controllers must continue working without receiving their paychecks.
Hundreds of thousands of non-essential federal employees have been furloughed and forced to take unpaid leave.
Mark expressed his frustration after attending a career development seminar for suddenly idle government workers.
Johan Hernandez, a young Census Bureau employee, said he is simply taking things one day at a time.
Nicole Garcia from the State Department finds the shutdown frustrating despite gaining time to take her son to school.
Another furloughed Small Business Administration employee successfully negotiated a mortgage payment freeze with their bank.
This worker noted the difficulty of being a civil servant since Trump returned to the White House in January.
White House budget director Russell Vought has bragged about causing trauma among civil servants through workforce reductions.
Elon Musk previously fired tens of thousands of federal staffers while leading the Department of Government Efficiency.
Other employees were encouraged to leave or worked for nearly shuttered departments like USAID.
The federal workforce now faces additional layoffs that the White House confirms are already being implemented.
Career diplomat Emily Abraham had been laid off over summer but was supposed to receive paychecks until November.
She now experiences what she calls double off work status with both job loss and no shutdown pay.
Abraham must support three daughters while paying a mortgage and maintaining a vehicle on no income.
She expressed willingness to accept any job given her desperate financial situation.
The Washington job market has become saturated with former government employees seeking work.
Abraham knows several former senior diplomats who now drive for Uber or Lyft while job hunting. – AFP