As if a partial government shutdown wasn’t enough.
A snowstorm that hit the mid-Atlantic this weekend has forced the federal government to shutter its offices in the Washington, D.C., metro area on Monday.
“FEDERAL OFFICES in the Washington, DC area are CLOSED. Emergency employees and telework employees continue to work,” said a message Sunday evening on the Office of Personnel Management’s website.
The snowstorm is the first to hit the D.C. area this year. Much of the area has seen between 8 and 14 inches of snow on the ground, bringing with it dangerous road conditions, bad traffic in some places, and power outages. Many school systems in the region will also be closed Monday.
The closing of D.C.-area federal offices will take place on the 24th day of the partial government shutdown, stemming from President Trump’s demand for about $5.6 billion in border wall funding. Congressional Democrats refuse to pass any spending bills with that money attached, and the GOP-controlled Senate and Trump have signaled they won’t accept anything without it. The shutdown has left 800,000 federal workers without pay and now some of those who have been working without compensation will get the day off.
So far Congress is expected to be in session, while Trump’s schedule has him traveling to New Orleans, where he will deliver remarks at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th annual convention. Upon returning to the White House, the president will host the champions of the 2018 College Football Playoff, the Clemson Tigers.
