Union wants a government shutdown

Federal employees inadvertently make DOGE's point

For more than a month now, we have been reading and hearing about how the Musketeers at DOGE are ruining the nation, killing people and helping Putin by finding waste, fraud and unnecessary employees in the federal government, which borrows a trillion dollars every four or five months to keep the doors open.

Democrat Congressman Gerry Connolly, who represents Beltway Virginia, complained, “The future of the United States depends on a strong Department of Education. Today, President Trump allowed an unelected billionaire to annihilate this essential institution. By purging nearly half of the dedicated civil servants at ED, they are paving the way for their cronies in private education to fill in the gaps. Trump University should not be the model for K-12 education in America.”

Unelected bureaucrats have been running DOE since it was created 45 years ago.

The billionaire in question in this case is Education Secretary Linda McMahon, but Democrats have been saying you cannot cut a dime from the federal budget which frankly doesn’t exist as instead of passing a budget, Congress passes continuing resolutions that put spending on automatic pilot.

Like many Democrats who serve the bureaucracy and not the people, Gerry has opposed government shutdowns in the past. That makes sense because he represents the lobbyists and government employees of northern Virginia who are literally rich men north of the rich men north of Richmond.

In Trump’s first term, Gerry decried a pending shutdown:

The president is once again rooting for a “good government shutdown.” This is a reckless and irresponsible threat. We have a fundamental obligation to keep government open, and I think members of both parties can agree that there are no winners in a government shutdown.

Budget brinksmanship has many victims, notably among which are the grieving families of fallen service members.

When a military family loses a loved one serving on active duty, they are entitled to a lump sum payment that constitutes a small and partial measure of our nation’s gratitude for that service member’s ultimate sacrifice. However, during a government shutdown, the Department of Defense cannot make these payments. This is unconscionable.

It is estimated that more than 30 military families lost a loved one during the 2013 and 2018 shutdowns. Instead of receiving the support they deserved during a period of mourning and immense pain, the families were denied a financial lifeline long promised to them. This system is not working for our military families, and we need to fix it.

This time, though, Gerry voted to screw those military families and shut down the government.

Suddenly, Democrats and their union bosses say there are winners in a government shutdown. There always have been. Most federal employees get a paid vacation out of it.

But in the past, the union bosses went through the motions of opposing the shutdowns.

The largest government union, the American Federation of Government Employees, in 2023 told members, “A group of House Republicans is ready to shut down the government if their demand for a series of deep budget cuts and conservative policy changes is not met. The shutdown will bring unprecedented chaos to the entire country as both military personnel and civilian employees will either be locked out of their jobs or required to work without pay. Critical government services will be put on hold.”

Oh my goodness. How will I live without The Federal Government?

Quite happily is my guess.

But this time unprecedented chaos is a good thing. Josh Marshall reported on the 180 degree turn in “Biggest Federal Employee Unions Says Shutdown is Preferable to Elon/Trump CR.”

He wrote, “in a letter addressed to members of the Senate, which I obtained, Everett B. Kelley, head of what I believe is the country’s biggest federal government employee union—the American Federation of Government Employees—asks senators to vote no on the House-produced continuing resolution, and says that a shutdown is actually preferable to passing the bill.”

Kelley wrote, “AFGE is particularly struck that even as the Senate prepares to debate and vote on [the continuing resolution], the Trump administration has announced its intention to effectively destroy the Department of Education regardless of whether Congress approves or disapproves of that decision.”

Marshall said the letter also says they categorically reject the idea that voting against the CR means voting for a shutdown. They then go on to discuss that the administration just unilaterally canceled the collective bargaining agreement with TSA workers and declared the agency union-free.

This looks an awful lot like a strike or perhaps a lockout by management.

And management is President Trump and his staff. He is the chief of the executive branch.

Last September, when Biden was the figurehead atop an autopen controlled by Lord knows who, AFGE vehemently opposed a shutdown.

Kelley said, “Once again, a group of lawmakers are taking orders from Donald Trump, pretending they’re on reality TV instead of running a government, and playing politics with the livelihoods of dedicated public servants who care for our veterans, protect our food supply, keep our communities safe, and so much more.

“AFGE members are sick and tired of politicians disrespecting our lives and the work we do for the American people. The American public agrees with us. Three of every four Americans thinks a government shutdown is unacceptable—including majorities across party lines.

“It’s time for lawmakers to stop catering to the whims of one reckless, desperate candidate bent on sowing chaos and confusion and listen to the 75% of Americans who don’t want to see a government shut down.

“We have one simple message for Members of Congress: stop the politics, perform the most basic function of your job as a legislator, and fund the government.”

In December, Kelley called a possible shutdown, “The prospect of a lengthy government shutdown is nothing short of a Christmas gift to America’s adversaries and a lump of coal in the stockings of the American people.”

Now Kelley wants to give an Easter present to Vlad Putin and sow chaos and confusion. Kelley is Sheriff Bart holding himself hostage in Blazing Saddles.

While essential employees will work, most employees won’t and they will get back pay.

Trump ought to lay off every one of the non-essential employees.

I thank Mister Kelley for making the case for layoffs.