I’ve been working in the US Federal Government for the past 24 years. In the first 10 years, I was a contract employee then I flipped to a full time government employee.

Since becoming a permanent employee, it feels like every year there is a threat of a government shutdown. Congress can’t get their act together and wait to the last minute to either come to an agreement or let the government shutdown. Thankfully, I haven’t been through many shutdowns but when they have happened they have been brutal.

The last shutdown under President Trump lasted 35 days and it happened during Christmas. I scheduled leave for the holiday into the new year. That got cancelled. Bah humbug!

Now under Trump’s second term, there is yet another government shutdown and this one can last longer than 35 days.

The timing of this shutdown could not come at a worse time. Trump and his administration frankly have crapped all over federal employees. From reducing pay and reducing benefits, the mental health of employees, including mine, has taken a huge toll. Many people left the government because they were fed up with it. Then there were people who stayed around because they had no choice and ended up getting fired.

Fortunately, I’ve avoided the chopping block but I admit the thought of leaving government has popped up in my head a lot. Why haven’t I left? Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment. Truthfully, I do enjoy the work I do and the people I work with. It’s the people way above me that I don’t respect and frankly don’t understand the work that is done to keep the government functioning. Their heads are some place else and with different priorities.

I need to watch what I say. I can easily go on a rant about how corrupt the government is and can get myself in trouble. It’s very frustrating dealing with people who make decisions without coming down from the clouds and seeing the whole picture.

This government shutdown is a perfect example. Both sides are blaming each other while employees are expected to come into work for free and other workers are sitting at home possibly getting fired for no reason except political games.

I blame Congress as a whole for letting this happen. While they say their fight is for the American people, letting the government shutdown has devasting effects specifically federal employees not getting paid. How much more crap do federal employees have to put up with?

I’m hopeful this shutdown won’t last as long as these ass clowns are predicting. It’s infuriating and the political games need to stop. These people still get paid during shutdown. I’m sure if they didn’t get paid, there would be a different discussion.

The joys of being a federal employee.