U.S. Coast Guard families receive free groceries during a food giveaway on Jan. 19, 2019 in Novato, Calif. An estimated 150 families in the San Francisco Bay Area, who are not being paid, received free groceries during the event. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Government Shutdown Coast Guard's top admiral criticizes 'unacceptable' impact of the shutdown

The Coast Guard’s top officer lashed out at the government shutdown Tuesday night on Twitter as thousands of federal employees faced missing a second paycheck during the monthlong lapse in funding.

“Ultimately, I find it unacceptable that Coast Guard men and women have to rely on food pantries and donations to get through day-to-day life as service members,” Adm. Karl Schultz said in a video posted to his Twitter account.


The Coast Guard faces more severe effects of the shutdown because, unlike other branches of the armed forces, it is funded by the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Defense, which oversees most sectors of the U.S. military, is fully funded until Sept. 30.

About 41,000 active-duty service members and 2,100 civilians considered “essential employees” are working without a paycheck, Coast Guard spokesman Chad Saylor said. Another 6,400 civilians working for the service are furloughed.

Schultz said that although he is heartened by the outpouring of support for members of the Coast Guard in a time of “anxiety and stress,” the situation is "sobering."

“You as members of the armed forces should not be expected to shoulder this burden,” he said.

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Schultz pledged to work with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to seek solutions to the shutdown, which shows no sign of ending. The admiral’s comments came the same day Coast Guardsmen and their families traveled to Capitol Hill and pleaded with lawmakers as they prepared to miss another paycheck, the Military Times reported.