Federal employees and others affected by the partial government shutdown told of its effects on Twitter under the #shutdownstories tag.
The government shut down at midnight Saturday after the Trump administration and congressional Democrats failed to come to a deal on a spending bill that would continue to fund the government. President Trump has demanded more than $5 billion for a border wall as part of the bill.
Though people started using the tag several days ago, many chimed in Tuesday after President Trump claimed in Oval Office remarks on Christmas Day that many federal workers are in favor of a shutdown because they want a border wall.
Trump also said he could not say when the government might reopen. Congress will next meet in regular session Thursday.
“I can’t tell you when the government’s going to be open. I can tell you it’s not going to be open until we have a wall or fence, whatever they’d like to call it,” Trump said.
Below is a selection of tweets that detail some stories of the shutdown’s effects on individuals and families, not all of whom are federal employees.
My family stopped #Christmas shopping last Friday, though we had a list left. We cancelled a trip to Fort Worth because my vacation ends tomorrow instead of Sunday as Annual Leave does not exist during a shutdown. We also cut our grocery budget in half. #ShutdownStories
— Dr. Stephen Bieda (@WildcatWx) December 25, 2018
My husband is federal law enforcement. He had the weekend off but now has to head back to work on Christmas morning with no indication of when/if he will be paid for providing crucial border security. We blame you @realDonaldTrump #ShutdownStories #TrumpShutDown
— Maria Ortega (@shamapoo) December 25, 2018
My husband is active duty Coast Guard. Everyone thinks the military is getting paid during the shutdown, but the Coast Guard is facing no pay on the 1st due to being DHS and not DoD. We live in NYC, pay over $2K/month in rent, have a toddler and one on the way.#ShutdownStories
— Katy⚓ (@katyjb88) December 24, 2018
Without knowing when my spouse will get another paycheck, we might need to skip taking our kids (8 & 10) on our annual overnight trip to celebrate their birthdays to ensure we have enough $ to cover the bills. But he got called to go in to work on Xmas Day. #ShutdownStories
— libertyelle (@libertyelle) December 25, 2018
My husband is a tattoo artist. 3 clients have canceled because they doubt they’ll have paychecks. That’s our paycheck for the week after Xmas. #ThanksTrump #ShutdownStories #TrumpChristmasShutdown
— ‘Tine Welch (@louie_service) December 23, 2018
I am a disabled veteran who has been waiting for service connected surgery for over a year (yes it takes that long), can’t get my final approval because of Govn’t shutdown. This delay is making my future health care costs more expensive for all taxpayers. #ShutdownStories
— ??Melissa?? #VetsResistSquadron (@MsPopRouge) December 25, 2018
