On Monday, political leaders made no headway toward a compromise that could send Amatucci and other federal employees back to work and find resolution over President Trump’s proposal for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that could cost close to $5 billion. With about 25 percent of the federal government shut down, lawmakers left town for Christmas and were not expected back to work until Thursday at the earliest. But Trump stayed, forgoing his Mar-a-Lago redoubt in southern Florida. Instead, the president spent his Monday at the White House, incessantly tweeting.

AD

AD

“I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security,” he tweeted shortly before noon on Monday. Then, he claimed opponents’ refusal to fund a wall “will cost our Country more money than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy!”

In the early evening, he boasted on Twitter that he “just gave out a 115 mile long contract,” to build part of the wall in Texas.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) scolded the president for the timing of the shutdown and alleged his top priority was not the American people but another demographic altogether.

AD

“It’s Christmas Eve and President Trump is plunging the country into chaos,” they said in a joint statement. “Instead of bringing certainty into people’s lives, he’s continuing the Trump Shutdown just to please right-wing radio and TV hosts.”

The scene in Washington during the partial government shutdown share Share View Photos View Photos Next Image

AD

Few see signs the standoff over funding for Trump’s border wall will end anytime soon. Legislation passed by House Republicans last week that offers $5.7 billion cannot pass the Senate. Pelosi, the likely incoming House speaker, and Schumer have been resolute against the wall funding that Trump has demanded, instead offering $1.3 billion for border security measures.

For the Trump administration, the deadlock is just one more chaotic chapter of the year’s final days, culminating with the worst week for the Dow Jones industrial average in a decade and the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

AD

The partial government shutdown most powerfully impacts the lives of low-wage workers, particularly those who clean and secure museums and other mammoth Washington buildings frequently seen in movies or on postcards. But it also affects people living in metropolitan areas in the Southeast to the Pacific Northwest.

AD

Perhaps most hard hit are those who work as contractors who typically don’t win congressional approval to recoup lost wages once the government reopens.

Jaime Contreras, vice president of a 163,000-member chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), said many federal workers fear this shutdown will last longer than others because it hinges on a pet issue Trump made the centerpiece of his presidential campaign.

AD

“It’s an issue that everyone is going to dig their heels in,” Contreras said. “The wall is irrational and impractical, and Democrats are not going to back down so we’re stuck in this situation and the people who are suffering are people working in these facilities living paycheck to paycheck.”

Lila Johnson, 71, of Hagerstown, Md., is one of those people. From Monday to Friday, she works the 6-to-10 p.m. shift at the Agriculture Department, cleaning men’s and women’s bathrooms on a contract basis. Although she supplements her salary with social security and a pension from George Washington University (where she also worked as a janitor), she worries the absence of her contracting salary will put her behind on crucial payments — her automobile lease and insurance, plus her townhouse rental.

AD

“It’s just putting me in a bind. I am going to have to juggle my bills around. My part-time job at the Agriculture Department helps me make ends meet,” she said.

AD

Compounding her situation is that her 15-year-old great-grandson and 5-year-old great-grandson live with her in her three-bedroom home, for which the rent is close to $1,000 a month.

“It’s not easy putting food on the table for kids and buying them clothes and shoes. That’s why I am still working,” she said. “But I did pretty good this year with presents.”

For now, Johnson puts the blame on Republicans, especially Trump.

“Trump is throwing a temper tantrum for a wall,” she said. “What’s the wall going to do? He just wants to say, ‘I delivered my promise.’ But he’s messing with people’s lives.”

Many federal workers are already plotting side hustles in the private sector. Amatucci, the NASA engineer, is also a licensed Realtor and plans on making up for his lost wages by trying to sell homes during the interim period. Raekwon Snyder, 23, a contractor with the Food and Drug Administration who lives in Baltimore, tends bar on the weekends and said he is considering more shifts. He might also return to driving for Lyft or Uber.

AD

AD

“I don’t like it, it’s not fun, especially when you’re sitting at work talking to your co-workers, saying, ‘I don’t know when I’ll see you guys again,’ ” he said. “It’s funny in the moment, but when you leave, it’s kind of sad. You just hope your co-workers are okay, as well.”

Although Snyder is happy to have more time with his girlfriend and their 8-month-old son, he worries the shutdown will drag on. His girlfriend works part time at a federally funded state care program and fears her job could be vulnerable the longer the shutdown lasts.

“It’s definitely going to start to get rough,” he said. “It’s definitely an inconvenience, especially when the reason the government is shut down, I think most people agree, is ridiculous, because we don’t want to spend $5 billion on an electrified wall with flaming arrows.”

AD

AD

Outside of Washington, some families are facing a government shutdown double whammy. Erin Kidwell and her husband in Mt. Hood, Ore., both work for the U.S. Forest Service. During the last government shutdown, they were renting and had only one child. Now they have two kids and a mortgage and are both furloughed.

“We’re going to lose both of our incomes right now,” said Kidwell, 41. “If we don’t get back pay, that will be a significant impact. Health care, insurance all comes out of that check. That’s really scary. I just don’t know what’s going on anymore. None of us do.”

Her family always lives modestly, she said, so unlike some co-workers, she will not have to return any Christmas presents. But she’s forgoing a party for her younger son’s fifth birthday, which comes a couple of days after Christmas. Her birthday is in January, and her older son turns 8 in February.

AD

AD

“It’s an expensive time of year,” she said.

She can’t save money by keeping her kids out of day care, either, she said, because she just paid for the month, and if she pulls them out, they will lose their spots.

She also worries that when the government reopens, she and her colleagues in the timber department will be overwhelmed. Recent cuts meant the office was “already struggling to keep up. When we get back, we’re going to have a huge backlog and more stress trying to get everything done.”