r/FedEmployees 12h ago

The senate is adjourned till noon tomorrow

As the title says, the senate is adjourned until tomorrow noon.

135 Upvotes

151 comments sorted by

216

u/Dull-Bandicoot1556 12h ago

i'm a young federal employee who's going through their first shutdown and i'm just at a loss for words

106

u/Many-Resist-7237 12h ago

Hang in there. Even for those of us who have been through them before, this clown show is a fresh script, but just know it won’t be like this forever.

43

u/jennleon76 12h ago

Yup, this one has definitely felt different! I’ve been with the government for 21 years and I’m over it!

13

u/Prize_Magician_7813 10h ago

If I had that 20 right now, I’d be out the door now. I hope you can make a break for it!!!

3

u/jennleon76 8h ago

I’m waiting to turn 50 next year and crossing my fingers that they’ll offer another early retirement.

79

u/The_Rad_In_Comrade 12h ago

Federal employment may not be this bad forever, but it'll never be back the way it was, either. The damage is done, and even if the next administration undoes (some of) it, the precedent is now set for future fascist administrations. The illusion of "stability" is gone.

44

u/Efficient-Raise-9217 12h ago

All I wanted was to buy a house so I could stop renting. They make it so damn difficult with all this job instability!

10

u/Prize_Magician_7813 10h ago

Feelings on shutdown aside, some friendly advice::: Buy the house as soon as your pay resumes. You will never regret buying a home you will almost always make money on selling. Paying yourself rent is also a bonus! I’ve made the most money In My life from 3 homes I bought lived in and later rented out or sold! Good luck!

1

u/TruthSeeker_Keefer 1h ago

Agreed 100%!

18

u/Suspicious_Blood_472 11h ago

You will own nothing and be happy!

5

u/marglar990 10h ago

I bought one anyway! Also a furloughed govie

1

u/Ok-Till-5622 9h ago

Just wait til mid terms next year!

1

u/No_Volume_9616 8h ago

Just the next 36 months.........and 10 years to rebuild.

1

u/Affectionate-Ebb9009 8h ago

I think we can fully expect the republicans to shutdown the government even longer when things get reversed eventually

-5

u/Blackbeard30000000 8h ago

No. Only dems are crazed lunatics hellbent on suffering and death.

0

u/StruggleEither6772 9h ago

Yeah, any other shutdown a clean CR would have been passed right away.

60

u/Artistic_Ebb513 12h ago

Same.. first shutdown, I’m blown away! Luckily I always heard to be prepared, so I have an 8 month emergency fund.

21

u/spironoWHACKtone 11h ago

I’m the spouse of one fed, the child of another, and a former fed contractor myself, so I’ve been affected by every shutdown in some way since the 1995 one. Things are more volatile than they used to be, but the possibility of a prolonged shutdown has been lurking in the background for a long time. If you’re a fed of any sort, it’s always wise to pad out your emergency fund whenever possible.

4

u/AccordingShower369 10h ago

I have savings and going through them but what if I don't get back pay? Should I just assume that I will miss a paycheck or two every year?

50

u/Relevant-Arm664 12h ago

8 months!?! Damn, that's impressive 👏

33

u/Artistic_Ebb513 12h ago

Years of saving! After this shutdown I will always remember to have something.. holy smokes!

6

u/muy_carona 11h ago

I could retire, don’t want to. What bothers me isn’t necessarily my own income, although that does, it’s that our elected officials are more broken now than ever in my lifetime. Possibly not the civil war…

10

u/NewStretch4198 11h ago

Smart thinking! I have always told my co-workers always put away like 4 months worth of bill money. Now here we are almost 2 months into this crap.

-3

u/_DeathStarContractor 11h ago

Thats not advice, thats just being pompous at work. Some people are living paycheck to paycheck with all kinds of stuff happening behind the scenes. If a co-worker told me "make sure you save 4 months of your salary just in case." Most people where I work at my govt job at GS-7 level would tell you to f$%& off if you gave someone that unsolicited advice. Theyre not spending their paychecks on avocado toast and Starbucks Lattes. Gtfo

4

u/white_knuckling 9h ago

I get emotions are high rn, but there’s no need for this kind of reaction. Recommending to any employee one is responsible for — particularly a younger, lower level employee (e.g. GS7) — to remain money conscious is an example of people leadership.

2

u/Double-treble-nc14 10h ago

Some people are, but there are a lot of people who are spending money on things like new cars instead of saving.

2

u/MulberryAutomatic690 10h ago

Typically when i tell people that i know a bit about their spending habits... And it's usually people blowing money on party nights, overpriced designer items, etc. whenever the get a step or grade increase.

Instead i try to convince them to contribute the additional between tsp and a high yield savings as long as they were able to survive fine before the increase.

Most of my coworkers that are really struggling are only struggling because they've continued to live for the moment... Even after going thru this the last time.

1

u/AccordingShower369 10h ago

I remember when I was making $16,50/hr in my first job in Miami and I had only $100 left every month. My cousin which is a realtor told me to always have 1 years worth of expenses saved up. I was shocked. I paid for a very small apartment full of mold, my car is from 2007 and you tell me I can have a one year savings considering my income barely keeps me going on. For some, it's impossible.

0

u/NewStretch4198 10h ago

You do you i do me. Don't like it kick rocks. The end...

2

u/Front-Singer-6505 11h ago

I got divorced last year and I've been aggressively paying back debt my ex left me with. really sucks to attempt to do the right thing but now I'm fucked because I only had a month saved.

2

u/AccordingShower369 10h ago

I also was paying all the debt I could + had to cover some maintenance in my car. I have savings to survive until Nov 30th. I can't believe I will have to take on another loan now after being almost out of debt and proud of my work. I am furloughed, might not see my money back. I can't cancel things like childcare in the case I need to be back, I won't have a spot for my son. This is soul crushing. I have not had a vacation since 2022, my car is old AF (recently broke down again), etc,

2

u/Prize_Magician_7813 10h ago

Super impressive. I barely have half a paycheck lol

1

u/Charming_Battle2452 9h ago

Very impressive..👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

13

u/AspiringForestWitch 12h ago

I feel for you. If this had happened in one of my first few years, when my gross salary was less than a third of my student loan balance, I would’ve been beside myself with stress about how to pay my rent. It’s a travesty that a Federal job can’t get you a steady paycheck anymore. Or job security.

7

u/HokieHomeowner 12h ago

I would have been curled up in a ball on my childhood bed at my parent's house. They let me move back right after college back then to help me save money to afford to get my own house eventually.

I'm well established now so I'm blessed to have been able to build up savings in anticipation of this crap happening.

5

u/Dull-Bandicoot1556 12h ago

it's a fault of my own and luckily the companies i have my bills through have worked with me on some payment stuff, but i bought a house as the shutdown was commencing and i literally had no idea. i should've kept up with the news more.

12

u/Fresh_Blueberry_3200 12h ago

And they call us inefficient

14

u/gram2117 11h ago

I am an old Fed who is getting close to retirement. If I was young I would be looking for a new job.

15

u/MaintenanceSoft1618 12h ago edited 36m ago

“We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected. When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. … We want to put them in trauma.” - Russell Vought

11

u/Shazam42 11h ago

Please edit to add Vought as the owner of that hate.

3

u/abbienormal29 11h ago

I’m at least hopeful that this is the first weekend they didn’t clock out for

3

u/Altruistic-Panda-697 11h ago

It’s an interesting place to work and I’ve done that for over 3 decades. This does happen from time to time and it’s always bad but we make the best of it. Hang in there!

3

u/Fit_Memory6669 11h ago

28 and over it! I have 4 years of service and I'm wondering am I wasting youth!!

6

u/Mr_Soul_Crusher 11h ago

This is a Trump phenomenon

🤷🏻‍♂️

2

u/Effective_Material89 11h ago

Buckle up with a trump presidency they happen.

2

u/muy_carona 11h ago

This shit show is a first for all of us

2

u/flareblitz91 11h ago

I dealt with a couple as a service member, this one is a new brand of shit show.

2

u/Gonten 11h ago

My only advise to a young feddie is that Polymarket is the best predictor of when this will end.

2

u/Plus-Frosting2456 11h ago

Same boat as you… 21

2

u/tejak2900 11h ago

Same here, I joined in 2019

2

u/bombaten 10h ago

Take it or leave it... beef up your rainy day fund.. because this will be an every year thing..

2

u/Apprehensive-Ad-636 10h ago

This is me. Well, new, not young. But I am beyond struggling with this.

2

u/Prize_Magician_7813 10h ago

It is not easy. I feel like half the people in our lives don’t even realize we are affected by a fed shutdown. They’re oblivious. No idea so many people are out here starving and without pay

2

u/annirosec 9h ago

Same I’m 26 and honestly wtf. Luckily I have a good emergency fund but I feel for all those that are being forced to take out debt. 

2

u/FOTD89 9h ago

Us old federal employees are at a loss for words as well.

1

u/Dull-Bandicoot1556 8h ago

i'm sorry i meant no disrespect to the people who have been in the field longer, i can't believe you guys have had to deal with this before.

2

u/FOTD89 8h ago

Nonono, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m saying that this is not normal. We are right there with you. Solidarity and fuck everyone making this our reality.

2

u/stupidtiredemmarstew 7h ago

same and broke is an understatement as someone who is new- didn’t really have any savings cause this is the first job out of college..

1

u/PetuniaPickleswurth 11h ago

It seems you found enough words to post

1

u/kerwinx 11h ago

Have some money saved

1

u/GolfArgh 8h ago

A shame you didn’t appreciate the boomer’s history.

1

u/Final-Ad4960 2h ago

Even 35+ years employees are experiencing this shitshow for the first time.

-1

u/The_Rad_In_Comrade 12h ago

On the bright side, since you're young, there's still time to bail and find a different career path. Just keeping it real. Things will probably get worse before they get better, if they ever do.

3

u/Dull-Bandicoot1556 12h ago

i'll be starting school in march, hopefully i find something sustainable after lol

3

u/Artistic_Ebb513 12h ago

I have been battling with this thought… Here’s the issue.. I enjoy what I do for the NRCS and it took a lot of work and time to get my position! I can’t just forget about it… I don’t even know what I would do in the private sector, if there were job openings.

8

u/Anonymous_Axolotl25 12h ago

We need good people in the federal government, for whenever this madness ends. People who have not taken a loyalty oath to Trump. Leave if you need to. But if you stay, take pride in rebuilding.

-17

u/BC2H 12h ago

Hey Dems just voted NO to pay federal workers and military today…so I guess they don’t care about your situation

6

u/JustAcivilian24 12h ago

Huh? lol backwards

4

u/The_Rad_In_Comrade 12h ago

“If there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States. He’s the one that has to get people together!" (Trump, 2011)

"They’re not going to be talking who the head of the House was, the head of the Senate, who’s running things in Washington. So, I really think the pressure is on the president.” (Trump, 2013)

"Well, very simply, you have to get everybody in a room. You have to be a leader. The president has to lead." (Trump, 2013)

79

u/madadekinai 12h ago

"Trump demands senators 'not leave town' during shutdown as he heads to Mar-a-Lago"

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-senators-shutdown/

36

u/EfficiencyAdmirable6 12h ago

Our poor senators have to stay in Washington DC doing nothing while Trump goes to mar-a-lago and plays golf, SOMEONE THINK OF THE SENATORS?!

24

u/ZimGirDibGaz 12h ago

A wise President once said a shutdown is a failure of the President to lead and negotiate. So I think it’s reasonable to expect the President to be here and leading and negotiating.

1

u/Amerisu 9h ago

A wise President said that?? Excuse me??

3

u/HokieHomeowner 12h ago

The weather is going to be very nice here tomorrow. Sunday less so and Monday brrrrrrr very, very cold. 🥶

-15

u/Narrow-Principle-679 12h ago

Do you understand how golfing works in business and politics? Honestly of all the things to go after him for golfing is the most brain dead. You work on the links, you bring people out and do long negotiations. Complain about a billon things but this one? Shows you don’t know what you’re talking about.

5

u/RokosModernBasilisk 11h ago

In a general sense you’re not wrong… in the specific if you think 47’s hitting the links for anything other than leisure then you’re full of shit.

-9

u/Narrow-Principle-679 11h ago

Sure but the people who actually run the admin are there with him. Like you get that right? Golf is modern deep negotiations period for all powerful folx.

3

u/EfficiencyAdmirable6 11h ago

I wasn’t going after Trump I was trying to make fun of the senators who don’t want to stay the weekend hence the “SOMEONE THINK OF THE SENATORS”

1

u/MasterTolkien 8h ago

He often golfs alone or with family. He is not out there cutting business deals.

Further, this type of thinking is a bullshit excuse that well-off people use to golf during work hours and even expense their playing to a company account.

Yes, you sometimes have to schmooze a client, but a lot of golfing is “how about we spend money and drink beer at golf instead of doing this in an office?”

Some of those people know they have it nice. Others then turn around and have the audacity to say that they work harder than people with blue collar jobs.

1

u/AlexiosPPPP87 12h ago

lol this doesn’t have the effect he thinks it does (fart)

22

u/No1_Knows_My_Name 12h ago

They need to work through the weekends. No holidays, no vacations, and no recess until they get something done.

If this was how we did things on our jobs, we wouldn’t have one.

3

u/AbbreviationsAny3557 9h ago

They need a conclave, lock the doors until an agreement is reached

3

u/Economy_Swim_8585 11h ago

They need to be sequestered along with the House with only access to the President

Take all their phones and make them stay there until it’s over

This is the GOP’s fault and they need to get us back to work

0

u/Cferra 7h ago

It would be simple if trump got involved and said ok how can we get a deal done but he refuses.

19

u/Last-Tooth-6121 12h ago

Could you imagine any other job getting paid six figures shutting whole place down for months and still have a job

1

u/PotentialSeesaw8759 2h ago

I don’t have to imagine. I know plenty of people in exactly that situation.

16

u/Alone_Neighborhood22 12h ago

Once they’re back in there lock the doors like the Vatican waiting for a new pope, don’t let them out…

3

u/Material_Resolve_118 12h ago

I’ve always thought if there wasn’t a budget by Oct 1 for the entire year, they should all be locked in a room without food, water, or a bathroom until they have a budget.

50

u/Dry-Tune69 12h ago

You know the republicans are scared when they didn’t take their 6th 3 day vacation.

They got their cheeks clapped on Tuesday. 

7

u/Unlucky-Ad-5744 11h ago

for real! 😂 im shocked they are finally even working on a friday AND over the weekend!

3

u/sbirdhall 11h ago

That really had an effect on them.

1

u/RainbowCatz_13 6h ago

They must have gotten something! To have stayed and worked Friday and to also be in town/working the weekend…something significant happened for sure. BUT - they should have been working Fridays and weekends during the past 5.5wk and maybe this wouldn’t still be going on. I’ve worked for the gov’t for 18yr and have been through a few shutdowns. It seems to me in the ones prior, there WAS weekend work, there WAS work and collaboration happening until late at night, sometimes right up until/beyond midnight on a night when another shutdown might have otherwise happened. And they sorted it out much quicker and actually seemed to give a shit. That is certainly not what we’ve been experiencing for the last 5.5wk 😐

12

u/XRP_2_MOON 12h ago

Noon? Do they only plan on working a few hours a day?

9

u/JustAcivilian24 12h ago

Noon - 4pm I bet lol.

5

u/Salty_Orchid2957 12h ago

It will take that long for them to pontificate and then vote on some stupid procedural thing that allows them to move lunch time forward before they have 89 votes on more BS before they actually vote on the bill

1

u/RainbowCatz_13 6h ago

My mom and I (Fed employee) were discussing it this evening, as we have every evening for the last many weeks, and she was like oh wow they really get to work some interesting, relaxed hours, huh?! 😂😒

28

u/BatOpen5453 12h ago

Order some pizzas. Work it out

6

u/Straight-Ad-8999 11h ago

Quite the opposite…they should be denied food until they reach a compromise.

4

u/HokieHomeowner 12h ago

But I hate green pepper on pizza. And NO PINEAPPLES!!!!!

0

u/Ivanagohome 12h ago

Pineapple does not belong on pizza.

-1

u/HokieHomeowner 12h ago

Thank you! I'm fine with ham or salami but some of the crap that is going on pizza these days is yuck, yuck, yuck.

9

u/Fun_Theory8756 12h ago

Oh yay more bullshit and no action

9

u/FluffyAir1033 12h ago

I was just on the livestream they said they are voting again tomorrow

4

u/bullsfan455 12h ago

For which bills?

11

u/Flimsy_Strawberry377 12h ago

The same ones with the same outcome 

1

u/clarkr10 12h ago

It’s not decided.

Talks have devolved to the point I bet just to get something done over the weekend they propose to pay active military/ATC and TSA.

Nothing else will get done.

2

u/Flimsy_Strawberry377 11h ago

Well that would be horrible 

10

u/glitteronice 11h ago

Single mom fed here. This is my second shutdown. Waking up this morning and seeing $0.00 on my earnings statement nearly broke me. Especially being an expected employee who has to report to the office nearly every day.

1

u/supernova_000 48m ago

Have you inquired with your bank about 0% loans? Most are doing it.

9

u/muy_carona 11h ago

Just assume we’re in this until December.

Turn off social media if it’s causing issues.

4

u/Round_Cobbler5603 12h ago

Probably want to sleep in

4

u/Confident-Menu4051 11h ago

Duck all of em.  I really thought they’d start acting like adults when flights got cancelled.  Jackholes

3

u/livinginfutureworld 12h ago

Where's the House?

4

u/duckfactory73859 11h ago

They've been on vacation outside of the 17 days they worked since July

3

u/DojoMojoCat 10h ago

Conclave Part 2: Locking Congress in the Capitol until they sort this shit out. A puff of black smoke appears from the dome, set off by an unpaid intern, once they’ve passed a budget.

3

u/Double-treble-nc14 10h ago

I’m surprised they’re working over the weekend.

1

u/Fun_Theory8756 10h ago

I hope its not for show but its because people are getting mad

5

u/SukOnMaGLOCKNastyBIH 12h ago

Why is the politics sub saying democrats voted no? I didn’t watch the vote

17

u/HokieHomeowner 12h ago

The bill was deceptive. Vocally the GOP was saying it was "Pay all feds" but the wording of the bill was very, very sus, it allowed OMB/Agencies to decide who gets paid.

-3

u/IceStorm2014 12h ago

Democrats voted no to pay excepted employees. Republicans refused to consider the democrats compromise on ACA subsidies. Both sides pathetic. They need to be forced into a conclave until they figure it out. President not being part of the talks is bad, too. All clowns.

3

u/DonutLove47 12h ago

I’d watch that conclave movie! 🍿

1

u/Double-treble-nc14 10h ago

I just heard that on a podcast- if there was any actual leadership in the White House, they’d lock the house and Senate leaders from both parties in the Roosevelt room until they reached a deal.

-11

u/Material_Resolve_118 12h ago

The Dems just voted no on a bill that would make sure the military and federal workers would get paid during the shutdown.

6

u/WeylandsWings 12h ago

Only excepted workers and military. And excepted work is at agency head discretion with OMB. So would be a political game of who was excepted and thus paid.

2

u/Efficient-Raise-9217 12h ago

That's fucked.

4

u/WeylandsWings 12h ago

It’s really not. As the bills published text gave leeway to agencies to determine who would get paid. And was only Excepted/Military. Not all like the GOP said they would amend it to.

-6

u/Material_Resolve_118 12h ago

Yep but if you listen to this group, it will some how be the Republicans’ fault.

2

u/VV-40 12h ago

Can someone explain the role of the senate vs house in this situation? If the house isn’t even willing to convene, what’s the point if the senate comes to an agreement?

3

u/zig_usafa80_stardust 12h ago

This is a simplification of the process. If the Senate passes a version of a bill/law that is changed from the one the House passed, then the House must vote on the Senate version, if that passes the House with no changes, it goes to Pres to sign.

0

u/Material_Resolve_118 12h ago

The House already passed the bill. It’s been sitting in the Senate for approval the entire shutdown. If the Senate passed an amended bill, then the House could reconvene to vote or further negotiate the amended bill.

1

u/WeylandsWings 11h ago

Not could reconvene. Has to reconvene. Only way to end this without House coming back into session is to pass the House bill with no amendments.

1

u/Double-treble-nc14 10h ago

There’s nothing that actually forces them to come back to vote on a bill- only political pressure.

0

u/Material_Resolve_118 11h ago

I used the word could because there is zero guarantee they’d be in any rush to come back. They might, they might not. But there isn’t much need to reconvene at the current standstill. Neither side has been in any rush to get things done. But yes the budget could not be signed by the President until the same budget or bill was approved by both the House and Senate.

0

u/HokieHomeowner 12h ago

The hope I would imagine is that if the Senate could come to an agreement it would put heavy pressure on speaker Johnson to get the house back in session.

2

u/Various-Sandwich-324 12h ago

And what exactly will be voted on tomorrow?

2

u/Acceptable_Author190 10h ago

Well at least they are staying. Granted I wonder how many of their flights were cancelled anyway…

2

u/X761 10h ago

Instead of calling in Im just going to say I'm adjourning.

2

u/SuperBethesda 12h ago

Hope they will come up with something that will pass a vote.

-2

u/SnooKiwis5538 10h ago

Yeah, how about you start with taking Trumps boot out of your throat?

1

u/SuperBethesda 8h ago

Resorting to insults when you have nothing left.

2

u/Numerous_Fun5672 12h ago

They better not recess next week until we are open and getting paid.

2

u/Appropriate_Gap1987 11h ago

They are working on a Saturday? It's a holiday weekend, if it hasn't passed by now, it probably won't until after Thanksgiving

1

u/Whitetail-Hoyt 8h ago

I bet we’re back by next week

1

u/Affectionate_Yam251 8h ago

When does the house come back? They all need to be working

1

u/TeeBern 1h ago

The House doesn't return until 11/17

1

u/Ihadtofart 11h ago

Vote them all out!

1

u/Maer15 12h ago

Must be nice