Trump’s Government Bill: Three Weeks of Recovery and Hope

Government workers react to Trump’s recent three week government reopening

Joshua Smith, Culture and Relations Team

On January 25, after the infamous 35-day shutdown that left government workers in panic and without a paycheck, President Donald Trump instituted a new bill that reopened the government for the three following weeks, and refunded all of the missed payments of workers.

But sadly enough for the government employees, this may not be the end of their battle. President Trump then followed up this news by saying if the funding for the wall does not come through by his February 15th deadline, he will either reinstate the shutdown or declare a national emergency. This would mean the government would become empowered to perform actions they were not originally allowed to before. It also would bypass Congress’ say on the situation entirely.

“I appreciate that he is making up for some of the problems he caused but I honestly don’t feel his efforts are enough,” says Dylan Rodgers, a TSA agent working at DIA. “ I appreciate the three weeks of cushion, but he is still planning on putting a shutdown back into effect afterward, so what’s really the point.”

Rodgers, being one of the many TSA employees that had their paychecks held during the shutdown, also went on to give even more insight on how he dealt with the shutdown.

“I’m just fortunate enough that my wife was able to cover the expenses of our bills and house; I just wanted to make sure our children were safe and well. Me and my wife would have been fine by ourselves but having the thought in the back of your mind that your children are depending on you really put me in check.”

Another government employee to voice his opinions on Trump’s possible reclosing of the government was FDA Inspector, Jacob Martin.

“It’s just a really stressful time for me right now,” says Martin. “After all the issues I faced from the last shutdown, I can’t help but freak out. I went through so much the last time Trump did this and I’m just praying that I have enough strength to get through another one because if not, I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”

Martin further went on to explain how he felt mentally and physically drained by the whole situation.

“It’s been on my mind nonstop ever since he announced it was his plan to reclose the government after the three weeks if he didn’t get funding for his wall,” Martin continued. “I can honestly say there has not been a second of calm in me since the beginning of the last shutdown he put into effect.”