Our congressman, Representative Jay Obernolte is a co-conspirator with a front-row seat. While thousands of federal employees are not getting paid, furloughed, threatened with layoffs, or left in limbo, Obernolte’s inaction is deafening.
The Trump administration has already begun issuing “reduction-in-force” notices to federal employees in agencies such as Treasury, Homeland Security, HHS all during a shutdown when legally the workers should be furloughed, not fired. This is not a mere “oops, budget mistake” it looks like a deliberate attempt to weaponize the shutdown to force Democrats to continue Trump's illegality. That's not going to happen.
Obernolte is not some powerless freshman. Yet what has he done? Spoken politely? Issued vague statements? Counted on talking points? None of that suffices when federal workers are losing paychecks, and taxpayer are losing services.
By refusing to break ranks, demand accountability, or force a way forward, Obernolte is effectively giving cover to this cruelty. He lends legitimacy to the charade that the shutdown is some kind of “principled stand” instead of what it really is: a bludgeon. This isn’t governance. This is a political threat, using federal employees as pawns. For families already walking tightropes, the uncertainty is devastating. For essential services, the breakdown is immediate. For morale in our government institutions, the damage may be irreversible.
Inlanders you have to ask yourself: would you vote for someone who, when the stakes were people’s livelihoods, chose to sit on his hands? Because that’s exactly what he’s doing.
Congress shouldn’t be hostage to ego-driven shutdowns. Obernolte should stop pretending he’s a powerless observer and do his job: negotiate, legislate, restore pay, protect workers. Anything less is betrayal to all federal employees.
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