Democrat claims some federal workers want to suffer through shutdown to get at Trump

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen is claiming that struggling federal workers agree with Democrats’ shutdown strategy despite the funding lapse creating financial uncertainty for hundreds of thousands who receive a government salary.

Van Hollen, who represents a vast swath of federal workers in Maryland’s D.C. suburbs, voiced confidence that government employees want Democrats to keep the government shuttered indefinitely until their demands are met, in a brief interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday. The Maryland Democrat suggested that federal workers care more about opposing President Donald Trump’s agenda rather than receiving their next paycheck in a timely manner.

“I think they all would like to see the shutdown end, but they also don’t like giving Donald Trump a blank check,” Van Hollen said while also acknowledging that federal workers have a “mix of views” on the subject. “I mean, he’s been shutting down parts of this government since Day One. I mean, he brought in Elon Musk, right? And they took a chainsaw to different federal agencies, so they’ve been shutting it down piecemeal since Day One.”

When asked if federal workers’ support for the 35-day shutdown is weakening over time, Van Hollen replied, “I haven’t seen their support eroding.”

Van Hollen’s remarks follow the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a prominent federal workers’ union representing more than 800,000 employees, urging Democrats to pass the GOP-backed continuing resolution (CR) to end the funding lapse.

Though AFGE president Everett Kelley warned that federal workers were “hurting” during the shutdown, Democrats have not reversed course to reopen the government.

More than 700,000 government employees have been furloughed and are turning to second jobs and food banks to make ends meet. A wide range of government employees, including air traffic controllers and VA nurses, are reporting to work without pay.

Hundreds of businesses, unions, and advocacy groups have called on Congress to end the shutdown using Republicans’ preferred approach of a clean CR.

Democrats have thus far refused to fund the government until Republicans agree to add on partisan policy demands to a government funding measure.

“They’ve been blackmailing federal employees since Day One in this administration, including during the shutdown,” Van Hollen told the DCNF. “This is why we’re standing up for them.”

Van Hollen’s Democratic colleague, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, who also represents a large cohort of federal workers in the D.C. suburbs, lashed out at Trump when asked about a growing number of industry groups and unions calling for an end to the shutdown.

“I think it’s interesting that the day Americans — the one out of every eight Americans who need food assistance — were getting turned down, the president of the United States was having a Great Gatsby Party,” Warner said regarding a major federal food aid program expiring due to Democrats’ shutdown.

Andi Shae Napier contributed to this report.

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