ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Johnny Zuagar expressed that he attempted to mask his concerns regarding a potential government shutdown from his three children while contemplating expenditures for Christmas gifts.
“I have to maintain a poker face,” said Zuagar, who works as a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau. He is trying to shield his boys, aged 14, 12, and 6, from the stress. “It’s essential to alleviate that worry from your family.”
Similar to many federal employees, Zuagar has faced the holidays with a cloud of gloom hovering over the season.
The ongoing negotiations in Congress aimed at avoiding a government closure created an unsettling atmosphere for numerous federal employees, who feared potential furloughs just days before Christmas. Fortunately, Congress successfully passed a short-term spending measure early Saturday, just after the stroke of midnight, which President Joe Biden promptly signed into law later that day, averting a shutdown.
Anxiety about future workforce reductions under the forthcoming Trump administration was already evident among many federal workers.
As the president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2782, which represents census workers, Zuagar has experienced government shutdowns previously. But the current ambiguity looms larger, especially with Trump and his supporters pushing for significant cuts to the federal workforce.
“We are left in a state of confusion about our future,” Zuagar remarked during a phone conversation. “The rhetoric suggests that federal employees are deemed the problem.”
The divisiveness within the ongoing discussions leads him to ponder: “Are we being blamed for every issue and complaint in the country?”
He highlighted that federal employees are also uneasy about the uncertain times ahead with Trump’s incoming administration.
“They feel apprehensive about what is on the horizon, almost as if this is just the beginning, or they feel neglected,” Zuagar added.
Jesus Soriano, president of AFGE Local 3403, which represents employees at the National Science Foundation and other entities, echoed Zuagar’s sentiments, noting that this budget dispute felt particularly distinct.
“It’s crucial for Americans to determine what types of services the government should be offering, whether that entails national defense, border security, food safety, Social Security, or other essential services,” Soriano stated in an interview in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
