A Timeline of the 2018-2019 Partial Government Shutdown – Week Three

The 2018–2019 partial government shutdown went into a third week.

Want to know what happened before week three? You may want to read my post about week one of the partial government shutdown, and/or my post about what happened during week two.

January 5, 2019: Day 15 of the Partial Shutdown

• President Donald Trump tweeted: “The Democrats could solve the Shutdown problem in a very short period of time. All they have to do is approve REAL Border Security (including a Wall), something which everyone, other than drug dealers, human traffickers and criminals, want very badly! This would be so easy to do!”
• President Donald Trump tweeted: “I don’t care that most of the workers not getting paid are Democrats, I want to stop the Shutdown as soon as we are in agreement on Strong Border Security! I am in the White House ready to go, where are the Dems?”

• AlJazeera posted an article titled: “Talks to resume after Trump says shutdown could last ‘years’”. From the article:

White House officials and congressional staffers will continue negotiations on Saturday over the government shutdown, even after President Donald Trump declared he could keep it going for “months or even years.”…

…Trump has designated Vice President Mike Pence, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and adviser Jared Kushner to work with a congressional delegation at a meeting set for 11am (16:00 GMT) Saturday…

• NPR posted an article titled: “No Deal To End Government Shutdown As Negotiations Continue in Washington”. From the article:

There were no breakthroughs in meetings Saturday between Congressional leadership and White House officials as both sides worked to reach an agreement to end the government shutdown, which is entering its third week.

A sticking point remains President Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion to build a border wall. Democrats say they will not agree to any additional money for a wall, and that the government should re-open while negotiations continue…

…Vice President Mike Pence, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and senior presidential advisor Jared Kushner were among the officials at Saturday’s meeting. Pence maintained that funding for the border wall is needed, and that the White House will not budge in its request for funding for the wall…

…Congressional staff and White House officials will meet again on Sunday afternoon to try and hammer out a deal…

• President Donald Trump tweeted: “V.P. Mike Pence and team just left the White House. Briefed me on their meeting with the Schumer/Pelosi representatives. Not much headway made today. Second meeting set for tomorrow. After so many decades, must finally and permanently fix the problems on the Southern Border!”

• Nancy Pelosi posted a statement on the official Speaker of the House website:

“While President Trump threatens to keep the government shut down for ‘years,’ Democrats are taking immediate further action to re-open government, so that we can meet the needs of the American people, protect our borders and respect our workers.

“Next week, House Democrats will begin passing individual appropriations bills to re-open all government agencies, starting with the appropriations bill that covers the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. This action is necessary so that the American people can receive their tax refunds on schedule. The certainty of the tax returns of hard-working families should no longer be held hostage to the President’s reckless demands. This bill will then go to the Senate where it has already been passed with overwhelming bipartisan support…

• The Hill posted an article titled: “OPM directs agencies to halt scheduled pay raises for Pence, top officials”. From the article:

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has reportedly directed federal agencies to halt pay raises scheduled to go into effect today for Vice President Pence, members of the president’s Cabinet and other top administration officials.

A reporter for The Washington Post tweeted Saturday that OPM made the decision Friday evening following news reports detailing the raises, which were unintended consequences of the weeks-long partial shutdown of the federal government…

• ABC News posted an article titled: “President Trump, senior White House staff to head to weekend retreat at Camp David”. From the article:

President Trump and his senior staff are headed on a group vacation — all at the direction of new acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.

White House senior officials will spend the weekend at Camp David in Hauvers, Maryland, a rural retreat for the office of president.

Trump will visit the retreat and lead meetings, but only on Sunday…

…It is not clear which staffers will be making the hike, though Vice President Mike Pence, son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will not be visiting. The three will instead continue to negotiate with congressional leaders in a bid to end the partial government shutdown, which enters its 15th day on Saturday…

• CNET posed an article titled: “CES becomes latest victim of US government shutdown”. From the article:

Just before the world’s biggest tech show kicks off in a few days, organizers are warning that several speakers will be canceling due to an ongoing US government shutdown.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show is expected to bring nearly 200,000 tech enthusiasts and leaders to Las Vegas, with the show kicking off Sunday. But on Saturday, Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Technology Association, which runs the show, sent out a short statement warning that a number of speakers who work for the US government had to cancel their appearances.

Sarah Brown, a CTA spokeswoman, said 10 speakers have canceled so far. Those speakers come from the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Communications Commission and several other agencies. She added that there are no current plans to replace those speakers with other programming…

• The Philadelphia Inquirer posted an article titled: “Muslim youth clean up Independence Mall amid government shutdown”. From the article:

With rakes, brooms, and trash pickers in hand, more than a dozen young Muslim men took to Independence Mall on Saturday in the rain to clean up litter. It was their way of lessening the impact of the partial government shutdown, they said.

Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, the Mall’s most famous occupants, have been closed to the public for the majority of the time since the shutdown began Dec. 22. That hasn’t stopped passerby — including tourists catching a glimpse of the Liberty Bell from outside its windowed housing — from leaving their cigarette butts, gum wrappers, and other items of trash behind, or the wind, for that matter, from blowing some of the city’s discards there…

The article says the Muslim youth who volunteered in Saturday’s cleanup are members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, a national organization for Muslim youths with more than 50 chapters around the country.

• The Los Angeles Times posted an article titled: “Shutdown spares federal park rangers at site in Trump’s Washington hotel”. From the article:

Smithsonian museums are closed. There are no federal staffers to answer tourists’ questions at the Lincoln Memorial. And across the United States, national parks are cluttered with trash. Yet despite the federal government shutdown, a historic clock tower at the Trump International Hotel remained open for its handful of visitors, staffed by green-clad National Park Service rangers…

…The Trump administration appears to have gone out of its way to keep the attraction in the federally owned building that houses the Trump hotel open and staffed with National Park Service rangers, even as other federal agencies shut all but the most essential services.

Amanda Osborn, a spokeswoman for the General Services Administration, which owns the building and leases it to the Trump Organization, said in an email that the shutdown exemption for the comparatively little-known clock tower was “unrelated to the facility’s tenant” — the Trump business. The agency says the law that put it in charge of the site obligates it to keep it open, even as federal Washington closes around it.

But the scene at the modest historic site at the Trump hotel building, where rangers often outnumber visitors, marked the latest episode in which President Trump’s business interests have overlapped with the work of the federal government, creating at least the appearance of a conflict of interest…

• Senator Chris Van Hollen (Democrat – Maryland) tweeted: “Senate Democrats should block consideration of any bills unrelated to opening the government until Sen. Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans allow a vote on the bipartisan bills the House passed to open the government. Mitch, don’t delay. Let’s vote!”
• Senator Ben Cardin (Democrat — Maryland) tweeted his agreement with Senator Chris Van Hollen’s tweet: “Agreed. This isn’t business as usual. This is a crisis, a fundamental failure to govern, and Americans are suffering for it. The Senate should not take up any bills unrelated to reopening the government until @ SenateMajLdr lets us vote on exactly that. #Shutdown”

• The Hill posted an article titled: “Dad and 10-year-old daughter embark on ‘Government Shutdown Litter Patrol’ instead of hiking”. From the article:

A father and daughter in Tennessee embarked on a “Government Shutdown Litter Patrol” to help clean a local national park earlier this week as parks continue to grapple with overflowing trash due to limited staffing amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.

Marc Newland and his daughter Erica were getting ready to go on their usual weekly hike on Thursday when Newland said his 10-year-old decided their quality time would be best spent collecting litter instead, a local ABC station reported…

…Newland said in a Facebook post detailing the cleanup hike that he and his daughter headed to the Laurel Falls trail with trash bags and pickers in hand for one of their stops and “before we knew it, our bags were full.”…

…The duo also challenged other “hikers to take one day off from getting in miles and impressive vista pics and instead, give back by grabbing a trash bag, heading to the park and collecting some litter!”…

• Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Steny Hoyer, posted an issue report on the House of Representatives Majority Leader website. It was titled: “Trump Shutdown Impacts Grow”. In it, he lists the impact of the shutdown. From the issue report:

Approximately 800,000 federal employees are working without pay or still furloughed.

Government contractors are operating at a standstill. Their employees are unable to work, and they won’t receive retroactive pay like federal employees have in the past.

The shutdown is delaying IRS preparations for tax filing season. If the shutdown lasts beyond January, more than $140 billion in tax refunds could be frozen or delayed. In addition, Americans currently can’t access walk-in taxpayer assistance centers and all taxpayer customer service. Individuals are unable to access return forms necessary for mortgages and lending.

If the shutdown lasts beyond January, nutrition assistance will be reduced by 40%, affecting nearly 40 million individuals and families across the country.

The Food and Drug Administration’s ability to ensure the safety of some medical product, animal drug, and most food related activities is significantly undermined as well as their ability to conduct inspections.

The Federal Housing Administration is not processing loans and mortgage approvals.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Real Estate Assessment Center is not conducting inspections of rental units to ensure housing is safe and sanitary.

Agriculture subsidies from USDA have run out of funds, leaving farmers without loans for rural development.

January 6, 2019: Day 16 of the Partial Shutdown

• The Washington Post posted an article titled: “Trump meets with staff at Camp David as shutdown enters third week”. From the article:

With the partial government shutdown dragging into its third week, President Trump on Sunday met with White House staff at Camp David, where the president’s long-promised border wall was among the topics on the agenda.

The meetings came one day after Vice President Pence, top White House officials and senior congressional aides emerged empty-handed after more than two hours of negotiations on ending the stalemate…

…In a bid to force the Democrat’s hand, Trump has said that he is considering declaring an emergency to begin wall construction without congressional approval. The legality of such a move is unclear, however, and the president would almost certainly face immediate legal challenge in the courts.

Trump also said Sunday that he understood the predicament facing hundreds of thousands of federal workers who are not receiving their paychecks…

…And he further backed away from the notion of a concrete wall, telling reporters that he informed his staff to now say “steel barrier.” During the 2016 campaign, Trump often pledged to build a concrete wall, but on Sunday, he argued that steel slats “will be less obstructive and stronger.”…

…While Trump was meeting with staff at Camp David, Pence met again with congressional leadership staff on Sunday afternoon. Trump, whose shifting messages during the shutdown have vexed Democrats as well as members of his own party, told reporters ahead of the Pence meeting that he didn’t “expect anything to happen” at those talks but that “we’re going to have some very serious talks come Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.”…

• President Trump tweeted: “V.P. Mike Pence and group had a productive meeting with the Schumer/Pelosi representatives today. Many details of Border Security were discussed. We are now planning a Steel Barrier rather concrete. It is both stronger & less obtrusive. Good solution, and made in the U.S.A.”

• The Hill posted an article titled: “Collins: Senate should vote on funding bills passed in House”. From the article:

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Sunday that she would support holding a Senate vote on bills passed in the House to reopen parts of the government unrelated to negotiations over funding for President Trump’s wall along the southern border.

Collins said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that she understands Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) is in a difficult spot because the president may not sign bills passed by the Democratic-held House, but pressed for a vote to reopen agencies like Agriculture, Interior, Transportation and Housing, and Urban Development….

…Collins argued that Congress should pass appropriations bills before the end of the fiscal year to avoid the threat of a shutdown being used as a political weapon…

• ABC 7 Eyewitness News posted an article titled: “US food stamp program could run out of funding if shutdown continues”.

The partial government shutdown could soon impact the millions of Americans who rely on the nation’s food stamp program.

The program is run by the US Department of Agriculture, which is one of the agencies that has been unfunded during the shutdown.

Congress recently issued $3 billion of emergency funds for the program.

However experts say the funding could run out sometime next month…

• The Hill posted an article titled: “House panel to ‘demand answers’ for Interior’s move to use visitor fees to keep parks open”. From the article:

The House National Resources Committee intends to investigate the Trump administration’s decision to dip into visitor fees to keep parks open, the panel’s chairman warned Sunday.

Rep. Raúl Grijalava (D-Ariz.) said that his committee — which oversees Interior — has plans to look into the legality of the decision, saying the shutdown has done “terrible damage” to the U.S….

…The National Park Service (NPS) announced to staff Sunday a plan to dip into “entrance, camping, parking and other fees collected from park visitors” to pay staff to assist in urgent maintenance needs at a number of national parks overburdened by visitors during the recent government shutdown…

USA Today posted an article titled: “‘The goal is not to open up the government’: Sen. Graham says no shutdown end without wall”. From the article:

The White House has said it is willing to extend the partial government shutdown, now in its third week, for months and even years to secure funding for a southern border wall.

And one of President Donald Trump’s most ardent advocates in the Senate amid his battle with congressional Democrats also appeared ready to accept a long-term shutdown to achieve the president’s goal.

“I do want to open up the government, but the goal is not to open up the government,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” when asked if he would support opening up the government before continuing negotiations.

“The goal is to fix a broken immigration system to bring reality to this table, the South Carolina Republican said. And after speaking to Trump, Graham said, “it was pretty clear to me that we’re never going to have a deal unless we get a wall as part of it.”

House Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D.-Calif., have said they will not negotiate on border security funding until the government is reopened…

• NBC News posted an article titled: “Hard to digest: Inmates eat holiday steak during shutdown while prison workers go unpaid”. From the article:

The partial government shutdown created a delicious irony at federal prisons — inmates dining on lavish meals in front of disgruntled staffers forced to work without pay…

…Inmates at FCI Pekin in Illinois enjoyed a fancy meal of steak and shrimp on Jan. 1. Cornish hen and Boston Creme pie were on the menu at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. And the prisoners at a federal institution in Minnesota munched on heaping plates of chicken wings, according to staffers and documents obtained by NBC News…

…In addition to working without pay, many of the prison staffers, including correctional officers, were ordered to cut vacations short or face a loss in wages and possible administrative punishment, including suspensions.

Adding to the staffers’ bitter feelings, the working inmates were still drawing government paychecks for their prison jobs, which include painting buildings, cooking meals and mowing lawns…

…The Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that holiday meals are “planned weeks in advance, including as happened here in advance of the government shutdown.”…

• ABC News posted an article titled: “House Armed Services Committee chair says President Donald Trump can declare national emergency.” From the article:

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, said President Donald Trump does have the authority to call a national emergency over border security, but is “wide open” to facing a court challenge.

“Unfortunately, the short answer is yes. There is a provision in law that says the president can declare an emergency. It’s been done a number of times. But primarily it’s been done to build facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Smith told George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” on Sunday. “In this case, I think the president would be wide open to a court challenge saying, ‘where is the emergency?’ You have to establish that in order to do this. But beyond that, this would be a terrible use of Department of Defense dollars.”

Smith also said he will use his position as the new chair of the Armed Services Committee to examine whether President Trump has politicized the military on the issue of border security.

“I don’t think you should use the military to advance your agenda,” Smith said. “The main thing I want to focus on in the hearings that we have coming up once we get our committee set is transparency and oversight. You know, why did the president send 5,600 troops — active duty troops to the border? What was the purpose of it?”…

• IndyStar posted an article titled: “Restaurant owner Neal Brown offers free meals to those affected by government shutdown”. From the article:

Indianapolis restauranteur Neal Brown is offering free meals to anyone affected by the shutdown, which Sunday hit the 16-day mark. That’s tied for the third-longest on record.

In a New Year’s Day Facebook post, Brown wrote “If you know someone affected by the Gov. shutdown, let me know. We’ll feed them for free until they get paid again.”

Brown said the offer stands at any of his Indianapolis-area restaurants, including The Libertine Liquor Bar on Mass Ave., Japanese sushi bar Ukiyo on College Ave. and Pizzology in Carmel. It also extends to immediate family members of affected individuals…

January 7, 2019: Day 17 of the Partial Shutdown

• President Donald Trump tweeted: “Congressman Adam Smith, the new Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, just stated, “Yes, there is a provision in law that says a president can declare an emergency. It’s been done a number of times.” No doubt, but let’s get our deal done in Congress!”

This is significant because, earlier in the partial shutdown, (during week two), The Wall Street Journal reported:

…Mr. Trump also said he is considering using executive authority to build a wall, though he prefers to negotiate with Congress. “It’s called a national emergency,” he said, asserting he had that power. It wasn’t immediately clear how such a move would be funded…

• The House Armed Services Committee (which controls oversight and funding of the Department of Defense, the United States Armed Forces, and portions of the Department of Energy) tweeted in response to President Trump’s tweet:

“There is no national emergency. Declaring one would be wrong and horrible policy. Don’t take 5.6 billion dollars from our troops for a wall we do not need. And remember that the estimated cost for Trump’s wall is $20–30B. $5.6B is just a down payment.”

• The New York Times posted an article titled: “Trump Wants to Deliver Prime Time Address on Government Shutdown and Will Visit the Border”. From the article:

President Trump wants to address the nation about the government shutdown on Tuesday night, and later in the week plans to travel to the southern border as part of his effort to persuade Americans of the need for a border wall — the sticking point in negotiations with Democrats who are eager to reopen shuttered government agencies.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about a request to television networks to carve out time for an Oval Office address. A person familiar with the request said the White House had asked to interrupt prime time programming on Tuesday…

• White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted: “President @realDonaldTrump will travel to the Southern border on Thursday to meet with those on the frontlines of the national security and humanitarian crisis. More details will be announced soon.”

• President Donald Trump tweeted: “I am pleased to inform you that I will Address the Nation on the Humanitarian and National Security Crisis on our Southern Border. Tuesday night at 9:00 P.M. Eastern.”

• CBS News posted an article titled: “White House asks for billions of dollars to fund border operations”. From the article:

As negotiations between lawmakers to reopen the government continue to be locked in a stalemate, the White House is standing firm on its $5.7 billion demand to construct a “steel barrier: along the U.S.-Mexico frontier. It is also asking for billions of dollars in additional funding for immigration judges and border security.

The administration’s negotiating team, led by Vice President Mike Pence, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, have provided Democrats with an outline of their demands for a deal to end the partial shutdown.

In addition to President Trump’s unwavering $5.7 billion request for border funds, the White House is demanding $563 million for 75 additional immigration judges and support staff, $211 million to hire 750 additional Border Patrol officers, $571 million to deploy 2,000 law enforcement personnel, $4.2 billion for 52,000 detention beds, $675 million for inspection technology at points of entry, and $800 million for “humanitarian needs,” which will include funds for medical support, transportation, supplies and temporary facilities along the southwestern border…

• TIME posted an article titled: “This Is Now The Third-Longest Government Shutdown in U.S. History”. From the article:

As of Monday, the federal government has been partially shut down for 16 days, making it tied for the third-longest shutdown in U.S. history.

The other shutdown lasted 16 days took place from Oct. 1, 2013, to Oct. 17, 2013. There have been 21 government shutdowns since Congress began using the modern budgeting process in 1976. Some of them have lasted just a few days, or even a few hours — as was the case last February — and haven’t really affected government operations…

• The IRS posted information on its website titled: “IRS Confirms Tax Filing Season to Begin January 28”. From the information:

Despite the government shutdown, the Internal Revenue Service today confirmed that it will process tax returns beginning January 28, 2019 and provide refunds as scheduled…

…Congress directed the payment of all tax refunds through a permanent, indefinite appropriation… and the IRS has consistently been of the view that it has the authority to pay refunds despite a lapse in annual appropriations. Although in 2011 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed the IRS not to pay refunds during a lapse, OMB has reviewed the relevant law at Treasury’s request and concluded that IRS may pay tax refunds during a lapse.

The IRS will be recalling a significant portion of its workforce, currently furloughed as part of the government shutdown, to work. Additional details for the IRS filing season will be included in an updated FY2019 Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan to be released publicly in the coming days…

…As in the past, the IRS will begin accepting and processing individual tax returns once the filing season begins. For taxpayers who usually file early in the year and have all of the needed documentation, there is no need to wait to file. They should file when they are ready to submit a complete and accurate tax return.

The filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019 for most taxpayers…

• The New York Times posted an article titled: “Tax Refunds Will Be Issued During Shutdown, Trump Official Says”. From the article:

The Trump administration will direct the Internal Revenue Service to issue tax refunds during the ongoing federal government shutdown, reversing previous policy, officials said Monday.

“Tax refunds will go out,” Russell T. Vought, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told reporters in an afternoon briefing.

In a late-afternoon call with the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration will call back a significant number of I.R.S. employees from furlough, in order to issue refunds. Mr. Mnuchin also told Mr. Neal that the I.R.S. would open the tax filing season on time at the end of January, and that enough employees would return to work to allow the I.R.S. to answer 60 to 70 percent of phone calls seeking tax assistance.

The employees will not be paid until the shutdown ends…

• CBS News posted an article titled: “Trump to make prime time address on border security”. From the article:

President Trump will make a prime time address Tuesday night from the Oval Office about border security, as the partial government shutdown over his border wall continues into its third week. It will be his first prime time address from the Oval Office.

CBS News will air the president’s address, scheduled for 9 p.m. ET…

• NBC News posted an article titled: “To air or not to air: Networks face pressure over broadcasting Trump’s immigration address”. From the article:

…As of early Monday evening, CBS, ABC, Fox and NBC had decided to air Trump’s address, according to sources familiar with the decisions who were not allowed to speak publicly. Late Monday, PBS and Telemundo confirmed plans to broadcast Trump’s remarks. The major cable news channels — MSNBC, CNN and Fox News — were also planning to air the speech…

…The four major networks have not had a consistent policy when it comes to airing presidential addresses on immigration. They aired President George W. Bush’s prime-time address on immigration in 2006, but did not air one by President Barack Obama in 2014…

• The Hill posted an article titled: “Networks to air Trump prime-time address live on Tuesday”. From the article:

All major networks Monday confirmed that they will air President Trump’s Oval Office address on the government shutdown live, after some initial uncertainty over how the organizations would handle the speech.

CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Fox Business and CNN all confirmed to The Hill that the prime-time speech will air on their channels Tuesday night. CNN reported that local Fox stations and MSNBC also intend to carry the address live.

CBS said in a statement to The Hill that the address will start at 9:01:30 p.m., and the White House informed the network it will last no longer than eight minutes…

• The National Governors Association wrote a letter calling for a swift resolution to the government shutdown. The letter was written to President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Minority Leader-designate of the House Kevin McCarthy. From the letter:

…On behalf of the nation’s governors, we urge you to find a compromise and immediately end the partial government shutdown. A federal government shutdown is a failure in governance and a weight on our economy and the American people.

As we enter the 17th day since the lapse in appropriations, it is imperative that you re-open the government now and, then, reach across the aisle to find a solution that will end the current impasse. Every day, governors must work with our state legislatures, local governments, and stakeholders throughout our states to find common ground, and we believe Congress and the President must do the same…

Variety posted an article titled: “Jimmy Kimmel Promises to Put to Work Federal Employees Impacted by Trump’s Government Shutdown”. From the article:

Jimmy Kimmel marked Day 17 of the government shutdown by inviting one of the nearly 800,000 federal employees working without pay to get a paycheck — by working on Kimmel’s late-night talk show.

“It’s unfortunate that these people, these workers, have nothing to do with this ridiculous wall, aren’t getting paychecks, especially right after the holidays,” Kimmel said at the start of Monday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC.

Wanting to do his part, Kimmel vowed to put a federal employee to work on his show every night until the shutdown ends. The first he welcomed was John Kostelnik, a prison guard and union president at the Federal Correction Complex in Victorville, Calif….

…Kostelinik also said that he, along with the rest of the government employees not currently drawing paychecks, “hope” they will see their money eventually, at the end of the shutdown. But for now, Kimmel handed Kostelnik a tambourine and put him in the show’s band, depite Kostelnik saying he does not play any musical instruments…

January 8, 2019: Day 18 of the Partial Shutdown

• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released a joint statement titled “Pelosi, Schumer Joint Statement on the President’s Tuesday Evening Address”. From the joint statement:

…“Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans in Congress have repeatedly urged the President and Leader McConnell to end the Trump Shutdown and re-open the government while Congress debates the President’s expensive and ineffective wall. Unfortunately, President Trump keeps rejecting the bipartisan House-passed bills, which have already received strong bipartisan support in the Senate, to re-open the government. Instead, he is still demanding that American taxpayers pay at least $5.7 billion for his wall, which can’t pass either chamber of Congress and of course Mexico is not paying for it.

“Now that the television networks have decided to air the President’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal airtime…

• NPR posted an article titled: “Democrats Set to Counter Trump After Oval Office Address”. From the article:

Democrats and President Trump are launching an aggressive public relations campaign in hopes of winning popular support as the 18-day partial government shutdown drags on with no resolution in sight…

…Top Senate and House Democratic and Republican leaders were invited to a meeting at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the shutdown, according to multiple congressional sources. Trump and Vice President Pence are also set to speak with Senate Republicans on Wednesday…

…Trump will begin with a speech from the Oval Office on what he describes as a crisis on the border with Mexico. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will then respond from the Capitol, in part they say to correct the record after Trump speaks…

• The Philadelphia Inquirer posted an article titled: “Federal workers rally in Philly to protest shutdown”. From the article:

About 200 federal employees, union leaders, and supporters rallied in front of the Liberty Bell on Tuesday morning to protest the partial government shutdown and pay freeze.

They carried bare-bones signs made from torn pieces of cardboard — “I’d rather be working for the greater good,” one read — and spoke of not being able to pay their bills, of feeling like pawns, of feeling disrespected…

…The rally was organized by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) which represents about 10,000 workers in Philadelphia, including Transportation Security Administration agents, Department of Housing and Urban Development employees and correctional officers, and the National Treasure Employees Union (NTEU) representing more than 5,000 employees locally…

…Another protest by federal unions is planned for Thursday morning in Washington outside AFL-CIO headquarters, and the NTEU plans to bus members to D.C….

• Reuters posted an article titled: “A growing number of Americans blame Trump for shutdown: Reuters-Ipsos poll”. From the article:

…The national opinion poll, which ran from Jan. 1 to Jan. 7, found that 51 percent of adults believe Trump “deserves most of the blame” for the shutdown, which entered its 18th day on Tuesday. That’s up 4 percentage points from a similar poll that ran from Dec. 21 to 25.

Another 32 percent blame congressional Democrats for the shutdown, and 7 percent blame congressional Republicans, according to the poll. Those percentages are mostly unchanged from the previous poll…

…It also found only 35 percent of adults in the United States support a congressional spending bill that includes funding for the wall, and 25 percent support Trump’s decision to keep the government closed until Congress approves funding for the wall.

Republicans, however, strongly support Trump’s pursuit of an expanded border wall. They have consistently ranked immigration as their top concern for the country. Seventy-seven percent of Republicans said in the most recent poll that they want additional border fencing, and 54 percent said they support Trump for shutting down the government until Congress approves funding for the wall.

• The Hill posted an article titled: “Hoyer: IRS distributing refunds during shutdown is illegal”. From the article:

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) claimed Tuesday that the Trump administration lacks the legal authority to distribute tax refunds during the government shutdown, as the White House says it intends to do.

“Literally, there are $140 billion, approximately, in tax refunds that won’t be able to be sent,” Hoyer said during is weekly press briefing in the Capitol…

…On Monday, the administration vowed that the shutdown will not delay the IRS’s distribution of those payments…

…Hoyer said flatly that making the payments during the shutdown is illegal.

“The president now is going to order them to do what we think is illegal to do because he wants to act like a dictator,” Hoyer said.

To ramp up the pressure on Senate GOP leaders to act, Hoyer and House Democrats plan to pass four separate spending bills this week, targeting some of the shuttered agencies.

On Wednesday, they’ll vote on a financial services bill to reopen the Treasury Department; on Thursday, they’ll bring two bills to the floor, one funding the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration, and another financing the Interior Department, including the National Park Service. And on Friday, they’ll vote to reopen the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development departments…

• The Washington Post posted an article titled: “As shutdown stalls farm bailout, Trump team extends deadline”. From the article:

President Trump’s program to send billions of dollars to farmers hurt by his trade war with China has been stalled by the partial government shutdown, as the Agriculture Department office responsible for administering the payouts is closed for lack of funding.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Tuesday that the department has extended the deadline for farmers to apply for bailout payments. The application window was slated to close Jan. 15, but Perdue said Tuesday that the deadline will extend until at least three weeks after the shutdown ends.

The shutdown caused the Agriculture Department to run out of money on Dec. 28 to keep Farm Service Agency offices open…

• The Guardian posted an article titled: “Six Key Things to know about Trump’s border wall speech”. From the article:

…Terrorists rarely enter the US through Mexico: In September, a state department report concerning 2017 found “no credible evidence indicating that international terrorist groups have established bases in Mexico, worked with Mexican drug cartels, or sent operatives via Mexico into the United States…”

… A wall won’t stop drug traffickers: The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has said the most common way for traffickers to smuggle drugs across the border is by hiding them in cars that drive through official border checkpoints…

…Illegal immigration to the US has plummeted: In 2000, the government apprehended 1.6 million people crossing the border illegally. Last year, it apprehended 310,531, the lowest figure since 1971…

• The New York Times posted a fact-check of Trump’s speech titled: “Trump’s Speech to the Nation: Live Updates and Fact Checks”. They identified one lie, and several things that require more context in order to be fully understood.

Here is the thing President Trump said that The New York Times identified as “false”:

…”The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only: because Democrats will not fund border security.”

False.

Democrats have offered $1.3 billion in funding for border security measures like enhanced surveillance an fortified fencing. They do not support Mr. Trump’s border wall.

In a meeting with Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Schumer in December, Mr. Trump took responsibility for the partial government shutdown.

“I will take the mantle, I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it,” he said….

• The White House posted a transcript of President Trump’s speech.

• A transcript of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s remarks, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s remarks, are posted on the Speaker of the House website.

• The Guardian posted an article titled: “Joshua Tree national park announces closure after trees destroyed amid shutdown”. From the article:

For 17 days, a host of volunteers and a skeleton staff kept the trash cans and toilets from overflowing at Joshua Tree national park.

But on Tuesday, 18 days after the federal government shutdown furloughed the vast majority of national park staff, officials announced that vandalism of the park’s distinctive namesake plants and other maintenance and sanitation problems will require closure starting Thursday…

…[Joshua Tree spokesman George] Land told the Los Angeles Times that, with only eight rangers currently overseeing the nearly 800,000 acre park, the gates would likely be closed until the shutdown ends…

• Reuters posted an article titled: “Trump administration says it will provide food stamps in February despite shutdown”. From the article:

The Trump Administration said on Tuesday it would keep providing food assistance to poor Americans in February despite a partial U.S. government shutdown, but warned it had no solution in place for March if the funding shortfall continues.

The announcement provides a reprieve for the roughly 40 million people whose food stamps have been threatened by the shutdown, triggered last month by President Donald Trump’s demand that lawmakers include billions of dollars for his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall in any legislation to fund some government agencies…

…Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the so-called Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program would receive funding for February thanks to a legal provision that allows money to be allocated within 30 days of a shutdown..

…Perdue said, however, that no solution has been identified for March, and called on lawmakers to agree on funding legislation and “send it to the president in a form that he can sign.”…

January 9, 2019: Day 19 of the Partial Shutdown

• The Hill posted an article titled: “The Hill’s Morning Report — Back to the drawing board as shutdown reaches 19 days”. From the article:

…President Trump will meet with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in the Situation Room today as the two sides resume negotiations aimed at reopening the federal government, which has been partially shuttered for 19 days now…

• The Wall Street Journal posted an article titled: “U.S. Government Shutdown Freezes IPO Market, Imperiling Expectations for 2019”. From the article:

The government shutdown is threatening to spoil what was poised to be a banner year for IPOs.

The partial closure of the Securities and Exchange Commission is forcing companies that were seeking to list shares in January to push back their plans, according to bankers and lawyers. They include biotechnology firms Gossamer Bio Inc., Alector Inc., and Blackstone Group LP’s Alight Solutions LLC…

…As part of the shutdown, currently the second-longest on record, the SEC has furloughed thousands of employees and stopped reviewing and approving all new and pending corporate registration statements, including proposed IPO filings, according to the agency’s shutdown plan and other notices on its website. Dozens of SEC accountants and lawyers who review IPO paperwork are prohibited from reading email or calling deal lawyers seeking to discuss complex disclosure questions…

• President Trump tweeted: “Mexico is paying (indirectly) for the Wall through the new USMCA, the replacement for NAFTA! Far more money coming to the U.S. Because of the tremendous dangers at the Border, including large scale criminal and drug inflow, the United States Military will build the Wall!”

• The New York Times posted an article titled: “Democrats Focus on Shutdown’s Cost and Steer Away from Trump’s Wall”. From the article:

…It is at the heart of their effort this week to push through the House a series of bills to reopen shuttered federal agencies, including one scheduled for a vote Wednesday for the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service among others. They are expected to pass the Democratic-controlled chamber but die in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The goal: to win over more Republicans in the House and raise pressure in the Senate, where on Tuesday, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the latest Republican to call for a vote to reopen the government as talks on border security continue…

• President Trump tweeted: “Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen. Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!”

• IAFF FireFighters Union posted a response to Trump’s tweet. It was titled “IAFF Response to Trump Tweet Threatening to Cut Federal Funds for Wildfire Response”. From the response:

As Californians struggle to recover from a series of devastating wildfires, the president of the United States has launched another impulsive, reckless and uninformed tweet threatening to halt federal funding dedicated to helping fire fighters keep their communities safe…

…“The president’s tweet is disgraceful at a time when the government is under a self-imposed shutdown and the citizens of Paradise haven’t been at their home sites in 30 days,” says President of the California Professional Firefighters Brian Rice. “This important funding would go toward literally helping this city rise from the ashes. To withhold it in a game of politics is insulting to the people of Paradise.”…

…Last year, unprecedented wildfire destruction in California burned an area larger than the state of Rhode Island — the Camp Fire, with 86 dead, is the deadliest wildfire in California history.

Wildfire season becomes a year-round event, with short-staffed departments and exhausted fire fighters spending weeks at a time on the frontline doing their best to keep communities safe. Further reduction of resources will only make things more dangerous for fire fighters and the citizens they have sworn to protect.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi responded to President Trump’s tweet with a tweet of her own: “@ realDonaldTrump’s threat insults the memory of scores of Americans who perished in wildfires last year & thousands more who lost their homes. @ GOPLeader must join me to condemn & call on POTUS to reassure millions in CA that our govt will be there for them in their time of need”

• CBS News posted an article titled: “‘Bye-bye”: Trump walks out of meeting with congressional leaders”. From the article:

President Trump’s meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and congressional GOP leaders in the Situation Room Wednesday afternoon ended abruptly, with the president walking out after Pelosi said she was unwilling to support a border wall soon if the government reopens…

…Mr. Trump and congressional Democrats are currently at an impasse over wall funding, as the president has refused to sign any legislation ending the partial government shutdown without sufficient money for the wall. Schumer said that Mr. Trump “slammed the table” and called the meeting a “waste of time” after Pelosi said that she did not support funding for the border wall. According to Schumer, Mr. Trump said Democrats would not do what he wanted if he opened up the government before they agreed to wall funding.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy characterized the meeting differently, saying that Mr. Trump handed out candy to attendees before it began. He also denied that Mr. Trump slammed anything before leaving the meeting…

…Both sides agreed that the meeting was unproductive, as the partial government shutdown comes close to being the longest on record. Workers at affected agencies will go without their first paycheck this week…

• President Trump tweeted: “Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!”

• SF Gate posted an article titled: “Trump ends talks after Democrats reject wall money; he calls meeting ‘total waste of time’”. From the article:

…The breakdown occurred shortly after the president dug in defiantly at a private meeting with Senate Republicans, attempting to rally GOP senators to his side even as he faced skepticism from a few lawmakers…

…Moderate Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, pleaded with Trump to reopen the government, according to lawmakers present…

…After the meeting, Murkowski told reporters: “I shared my support for the need for border security in the country and what we should do from a humanitarian perspective but a recognition that when the government is shut down there are consequences and people are starting to feel the consequences.”…

…When asked Wednesday how long he was willing to let the shutdown continue as he seeks money for a border wall, Trump replied: “Whatever it takes”..

• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi posted remarks titled: “Pelosi Remarks Upon Returning to Capitol Following White House Meeting” on the Speaker of the House website. From the remarks:

Q: President Trump walked out of that meeting. Is that it? End of negotiations?

Speaker Pelosi: Well, I would hope not. We had people over the weekend, in a series of meetings, trying to come to an agreement of stipulation of fact, of what the challenge is, of the merit of ways to protect our border. Border security is a high priority. It’s our oath we take to protect and defend our people, wherever that is and securing our border is part of that.

The President stomped out of that meeting when he said, ‘Will you support a wall?’ and I said, ‘No.’

Now, they’re trying to mischaracterize what he actually said. But that’s par for the course for going to the White House in the first place — mischaracterization…

…Q: You’ve been through a lot of high stakes negotiations, intense negotiations. How does what just happened compare to what you’ve just ben through in the past?

Speaker Pelosi: It wasn’t even a high stakes negotiation. It was a petulant President of the United States. A person who would say, ‘I’ll keep government shut down for weeks, month or years unless I get my way.’

That’s not how democracy works, and so it’s very sad. And the sad part of it is, that when you are having a negotiation, you can’t negotiate unless you stipulate to fact and the President is presenting notions that really do not relate to fact, evidence, data or truth.

• Reuters posted an article titled: “House passes bill that would end shutdown, but Senate unlikely to take it up”. From the article:

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation to end a partial shutdown of the Treasury Department and some other agencies, but without any money for President Donald Trump’s border wall.

By a vote of 240–188 along mostly partisan lines, the House passed the bill and sent it to the Republican-controlled Senate…

• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tweeted: “House Democrats just voted to ensure that this irresponsible #TrumpShutdown doesn’t block hardworking families from receiving their tax refunds in full & on time. The @ SenateGOP must pass this legislation or be fully complicit in the cruelty of this situation. #EndTheShutdown”

• ABC News posted an article titled: “Shutdown stops federal government from paying its $5 million water bill to Washington DC”. From the article:

As a result of the ongoing shutdown, the government won’t be able to promptly pay Washington D.C. a $5 million water bill for services to federal buildings.

With 195,000 employees, the federal government is the city’s largest water customer. Those employees work in dozens of federal buildings and all of that toilet flushing, hand washing, and other water use adds up.

The bill? Some $16.5 million, of which the federal government paid $10.5 million…

…In a letter from the U.S. Treasury Department read at a water utility board meeting last week, members were told that the government would not be able to immediately pay the $5 million it owes. The Treasury Department confirmed to ABC News in a statement that “due to the partial government shutdown, some of the agencies consuming these services had a lapse in appropriation so no authority exists to collect the funding to pay their bill.”

Some on the utility board raised questions of whether they will shut off services eventually or charge late fees…

• Joshua Tree National Park posted information on its National Park Service website titled: “Joshua Tree National Park to Remain Accessible”. From the information:

By immediately utilizing revenue generated by recreation fees, National Park Service officials have been able to avert a temporary closure of Joshua Tree National Park that had been previously scheduled for January 10. In addition, recently closed areas of the park will once again be accessible starting January 10. Some visitor services, including campgrounds and entrance stations, will reopen utilizing recreation fee revenue…

January 10, 2019: Day 20 of the Partial Shutdown

• President Trump tweeted: “Cryn Chuck told his favorite lie when he used his standard sound bite that I “slammed the table & walked out of the room. He had a temper tantrum.” Because I knew he would say that, and after Nancy said no to proper Border Security, I politely said bye-bye and left, no slamming!”

• President Trump tweeted: “There is GREAT unity with the Republicans in the House and Senate, despite the Fake News Media working in overdrive to make the story look otherwise. The Opposition Party & the Dems know we must have Strong Border Security, but don’t want to give “Trump” another one of many wins!”

• The Hill posted an article titled: “Trump: ‘Cryn Chuck’ Schumer lied about ‘temper tantrum’” From the article:

…Trump also declared Thursday on Twitter that there is “GREAT unity” among Republicans in Congress amid the shutdown, even as some members of the GOP — including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — have broken with Trump over wall negotiations….

• Alternet posted an article titled: “‘A no-win proposition’”: Here are 4 GOP senators calling for an end to the partial government shutdown”. Those GOP senators are: Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, West Virginia’s Shelley Moor Capito, Maine’s Susan Collins, and Colorado’s Cory Gardner.

• NPR posted an article titled: “Shutdown Shutters Many D.C. Tourist Attractions — But Not The One In Trump’s Hotel”. From the article:

…One of the very few government-owned tourist attractions that’s still open is just a few blocks away, in the clock tower of the historic, 1899-vintage Old Post Office building. Three park ranger are on duty, guiding visitors up two elevators and onto an observation deck that provide dramatic views of downtown Washington. There’s also a set of historic bells that ring regularly.

The Old Post Office is owned by the federal government which leases the building to the Trump International Hotel, itself operated by President Trump’s Trump Organization. And once again, Trump’s stake in that hotel is controverisal.

A lawsuit is making its way through the courts alleges that Trump is violating anti-corruption clauses of the Constitution whenever the hotel does business with foreign and state governments. Lobbyists and political allies frequently hold events at the hotel. And there are questions about whether Trump personally intervened in plans to replace the FBI headquarters, which sits across the street from the hotel, in order to protect his business interests.

For Democrats and ethics watchdogs, the clock tower’s continued operation during a government shutdown has raised new questions about whether Trump’s business interests are getting an unfair boost from the government he sits atop of…

• NBC News posted an article titled: “Test of steel prototype for border wall showed it could be sawed through”. From the article:

President Donald Trump has repeatedly advocated for a steel slat design for his border wall, which he described as “absolutely critical to border security” in his Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday. But Department of Homeland Security testing of a steel slat prototype proved it could be cut through with a saw, according to a report by DHS.

A photo exclusively obtained by NBC News shows the results of the test after military and Border Patrol personnel were instructed to attempt to destroy the barriers with common tools.

The Trump administration directed the construction of eight steel and concrete prototype walls that were built in Otay Mesa, California, just across the border from Tijuana, Mexico. Trump inspected the prototypes in March 2018. He has now settled on a steel slat, or steel bollard, design for the proposed border barrier additions. Steel bollard fencing has been used under previous administrations.

However, testing by DHS in late 201 showed all eight prototypes, including the steel slats, were vulnerable to breaching, according to an internal February 2018 U.S. Customs and Border Protection report…

• NBC News posted a tweet that includes the photo of a steel slat wall that has clearly been sawed through.

• President Trump tweeted: “Getting ready to leave for the Great State of Texas! #MAGA”

• President Trump followed that tweet with a tweet that said: “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

• USA Today posted an article titled: “Trump, heading to border, makes his most explicit threat yet that he may declare a national emergency.” From the article:

President Trump was headed to Texas on Thursday in an effort to promote his long-promised wall and again threatened to declare a national emergency if Democrats don’t agree to his demand for more wall funding…

… “If this doesn’t work out, I’ll probably will do it, maybe definitely,” Trump said. “We have plenty of funds if there’s a national emergency.”…

…Trump is expected to take part in a roundtable and receive a briefing from border officials. The president has also granted an interview to Fox News, which the network said will air Thursday night…

…Hanging over Trump’s visit to the border are questions about whether he will declare a national emergency, a move that would allow him to redirect defense money for a wall but would almost certainly trigger court challenges. An emergency declaration could give Trump an off ramp to reopen the government but continue to fight for the wall…

• The New York Times posted an article titled: “Trump, Along the Border in Texas, Reiterates Demand for Wall”. From the article:

…Flanked by Border Patrol officers, as well as Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of homeland security, and a cache of drugs, cash and weapons seized by the authorities at the border, Mr. Trump again blamed the protracted shutdown affecting vast swaths of the federal government on Democrats. He reiterated an untrue claim that Mexico would indirectly pay for the wall through a revamped trade agreement, and heard from people who had loved ones killed by immigrants…

…But as the government shutdown neared the end of its third week, the president left Washington with no additional negotiations scheduled with congressional leaders over a possible compromise that could provide border security and open the government. In remarks to reporters on Thursday, Mr. Trump did not rule out declaring a state of national emergency that would allow him to bypass Congress to fund the wall…

…To bolster his campaign for the wall, the president has also scheduled an interview with the Fox host Sean Hannity, who will broadcast his show Thursday night from McAllen. Mr. Hannity is one of the president’s highest-profile supporters and is highly influential among his political base…

…At least seven senior aides were aboard the flight, including Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior advisor; Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his press secretary; Bill Shine, his deputy in chief for communications; Mick Mulvaney, his acting chief of staff; and Stephen Miller, a senior White House advisor and architect of the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies.

• TIME posted an article titled: “Trump Campaigned on Mexico Paying for the Wall. Now He Says He ‘Obviously’ Didn’t Mean It”. From the article:

When he launched his campaign, Donald Trump argued that he would force Mexico to pay for a border wall. Now he says he “obviously” didn’t mean it…

…“When during the campaign, I would say ‘Mexico is going to pay for it,” obviously, I never said this, and I never meant they’re gonna write out a check, I said they’re going to pay for it. They are,” Trump said.

Again, Trump did say Mexico would pay for the wall, and he did say that it would hand the U.S. money for it…

…As president, Trump has argued that Mexico will pay for the wall indirectly through the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, which has not been ratified. However, experts say that the new deal doesn’t have any provisions to use tariff funds to build a wall and that Mexico would never agree to the treaty if it did…

• NBC News posted an article titled: “Record Latinos in Congress vow to overcome Trump’s wall, shutdown”. From the article:

At a ceremony to usher in a record number of Latino Democrats in Congress, lawmakers exuded more outrage than delight as they recognized their legislative ambitions are contending for now with a standoff over a border wall with Mexico that has partially shut down the government…

…[Democratic Congressman Jesús] García was one of the members of Congress who participated in a ceremonial swearing-in Wednesday night at the U.S. Capitol for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), a bipartisan organization whose members are all Democrat. According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) there are thirty-three Latino Democrats in the current Congress and five Republicans who have their own caucus known as the Congressional Hispanic Conference.

Speaking to a packed crowd, newly elected CHC Chair Joaquín Castro, D-Texas, told a packed auditorium that the highest number of Hispanics in Congress represents a greater focus on the community at large to counter negative perceptions about Latinos, which some decry as a reason for the elevated attention of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border…

• The Guardian posted an article titled: “‘It’s the last resort’: government employees turn to GoFundMe for help. From the article:

People affected by the government shutdown have established approximately 1,000 fundraisers on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe to help cover their expenses, a spokeswoman for the company said on Wednesday.

The campaigns, often seeking a few hundred to thousands of dollars to cover necessities such as rent, groceries and utilities, have raised about $100,000 altogether — or an average of just $100 each…

• The Hill posted an article titled: “Second federal employees union sues Trump administrator over shutdown”. From the article:

A second federal employees union has filed suit against the Trump administration over the government shutdown, which is now in its third week.

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents 150,000 members at 33 federal agencies, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that hundreds of thousands of workers are being illegally forced to work without pay, according to The Washington Post.

The lawsuit comes just a week after the American Federation of Government Employees union announced a similar lawsuit.

The NTEUs lawsuit names Albert Vieira, a Customs and Border Protection officer considered an “essential” government employees, as the plaintiff.

According to the lawsuit, Vieira has been deployed at the southwest border since November, and worked at least one overtime shift, the Post reported. The lawsuit asks that Vieira and other individuals in similar positions be paid wages they are owed…

• Politico posted an article titled: “Air traffic controllers miss first paycheck” From the article:

Air traffic controllers, who are working through the government shutdown, won’t be getting a paycheck for their last two weeks of work, their union confirmed Thursday morning…

…Controllers and other aviation industry workers are planning to rally outside the Capitol building Thursday afternoon to call for the shutdown to be halted. They will be joined by several members of Congress from both parties and representatives of the airline industry, among others…

• HuffPost posted an article titled: “Federal Employees are Filing Unemployment Claims To Get Through The Shutdown”. From the article:

…So far, the number of federal workers and contractors seeking unemployment benefits has been rising but appears to remain small as a share of the overall furloughed workforce. Unemployment agencies said they expect the number of claims to rise in the coming days, if more workers fear the impasse will stretch beyond their savings.

The District of Columbia, which has a disproportionate share of federal workers compared with states, had seen 3,745 federal workers and an estimated 822 federal contractors apply for benefits due to the shutdown as of Tuesday night, the D.C. Department of Employment Services told HuffPost. The agency is dealing with the influx of cases by having staff work extended hours.

A total of 1,328 workers in Maryland applied for unemployment as a result of the shutdown as of Monday night, according to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The state has some of the highest concentrations of federal workers in the country…

• The Oregon Zoo posted news titled “Zoo offers free entry for furloughed federal employees”. From the news:

The Oregon Zoo is offering free admission for furloughed federal employees and their families during the partial government shutdown, zoo officials said. The offer — which is effective immediately and will last through the shutdown — is als good for federal contractors who are affected.

To receive free admission, furloughed employees must show their federal ID or badge…

• The Chicago Tribune posted an article titled: “Federal workers to rally in Loop, calling for end to government shutdown”. From the article:

Federal workers, from border and customs agents to prison guards and agriculture agency employees were expected to converge on Chicago’s Loop midday Thursday to rally for an end to the partial government shutdown.

The noon rally is sponsored by the largest union that represents federal workers, the American Federation of Government Employees. It will be at Federal Plaza at Adams and Dearborn streets…

..AFGE District 7 represents federal employees in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, including in agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Homeland Security, all of which are affected by the shutdown…

• The Chicago Tribune later posted an article titled: “‘This is just wrong,’ Federal workers rally in Loop as government shutdown stretches into 20th day”. A few key points from the article:

…The workers, from border and customs agents to prison guards and agriculture agency employees, converged on Chicago’s Loop at noon.

The noon rally was sponsored by the largest union that represents federal workers, the American Federation of Government Employees…

…Mike Muchowski [of the AFGE] said the union plans to hold rallies every Thursday at non in Federal Plaza for as long as necessary.

Among those at the rally was the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

“Workers want jobs, not walls,” said Jackson, who then led a chant as the crowd loudly repeated, “Jobs not walls! Jobs not walls! Jobs not walls!”…

• Reuters posted an article titled: “‘We want our pay!’ furloughed U.S. workers shout at White House”. From the article:

Hundreds of furloughed federal employees changing “We want our pay!” marched on the White House on Thursday, the 20th day of a partial government shutdown over U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for border wall funding.

“Stop the shutdown!” protesters shouted in the bitter cold at the union-organized demonstration that started at the ALF-CIO headquarters and ended in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where they hoisted signs reading “Trump: End the Shutdown” and “Not a strike — we want to work.”…

…Protesters, many wearing neon green vest reading, “I am a worker. I demand a voice,” on Thursday demanded the government be reopened, separate from any debate over wall funding.

Smaller protests across the country — from Palm Beach, Florida, to New York City — had similar demands…

…Trump was not at the White House when the protesters arrived, having traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas.

• The Louisville Courier Journal posted an article titled: “Federal workers protest government shutdown outside McConnell’s office”. From the article:

Frustrated federal employees gathered outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office in downtown Louisville on Thursday to protest the government shutdown that has frozen their paychecks and prevented them from going to work.

More than 50 people joined the rally, which was led by American Federation of Government Employees’ local chapter. They waved signs with slogans like “We Want to Work” and “End the Shutdown Now” as passing cars honked in solidarity….

• The U.S. House of Representatives voted on H.R. 265. It was titled: “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related agencies Appropriations Act, 2019”. Key points from the bill:

• This is an appropriations bill — which means that the intent is to provide funding for the agencies that this bill focuses on. If passed into law, and signed by the President, H.R. 265 would reopen parts of the U.S. government.

• It would provide funding to the United States Department of Agriculture for agricultural programs, farm production and conservation programs, rural development programs, and the Food and Nutrition Service budget.

• The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The vote was 243 YEAS — to 183 NAYS. The 116th Congress has 199 Republicans, 235 Democrats, no Independents, and one vacancy in the House of Representatives.

• The Republicans who voted YEA (with the Democrats are): Rodney Davis (R-IL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jaime Herrera Beulter (R-WA), Will Hurd, (R-Texas), John Katko (R-NY), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Fred Upton (R-MI), and Greg Walden (R-OR).

• All of the 183 NAY votes came from Republicans. There were 7 people who did not cast a vote at all — 6 Republicans and 1 Democrat.

• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi posted a transcript of her weekly press conference on the Speaker of the House website. From the transcript:

Good morning. This week the House Democrats are continuing to pass Senate Republican language. As I said in my Opening Day remarks, we want to accept good ideas wherever they come from, if they’re a solution. And so, in that spirit, we accepted Senate Republican language for bills that had passed the Senate 92 to 6. Strong bipartisan support. We’re putting those on the floor each day.

Yesterday, we did the legislation to open up the Treasury Department, to make sure that people there are able to come to work and be paid as they meet the needs of the American people, including, but not confined to, getting their refunds, or getting a small business SBA loan, answering questions for taxpayers who are calling in — the full function ofthe Treasure Department. You can’t say to the Treasury Department: ‘Come in. Do the job. You’re not going to get paid.’ That’s what the President is saying.

And today we will have the agriculture bill, the bill that covers the Department of Agriculture, on the floor, so that we can address the farmers’ safety net. They are expecting, and not receiving, what the President promised when he did his, shall we say, misinformed trade policies. They also have subsidies and other needs as they plan for the growing season. And food safety inspections, food stamps, all the rest, being held up by the President’s petulance.

Again, today we’ll do — this week we’ll vote on Transportation and HUD to prevent families from being evicted from their homes. There’s so much that HUD has to do with housing in our country that is forestalled by the President’s obstinance. And then we will do Interior Department legislation on Friday.

Next week, we’ll proceed with legislation that did not pass the full Senate yet, but very strongly came out of committee — in fact, with the vote in some cases, where he is on the committee, of Mitch McConnell…

• BuzzFeed News posted an article titled: “There’s Little Urgency In Congress To End the Shutdown, As Federal Workers Go Without Pay”. From the article:

…And so a waiting game has set in. Republicans who support a short-term spending bill to reopen the government while negotiations continue agree that Trump would have no part of it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is largely sitting out the negotiations between Trump and the Democrats and has said he will not allow a vote on any bill that Trump does not endorse.

That kills the option of Republicans and Democrats in Congress working together to pass a bill and daring Trump to veto it. McConnell’s stance also blocks one extreme but otherwise possible end to the shutdown — Congress overriding a presidential veto with two-thirds votes in both chambers, thus reopening the government by themselves…

• President Trump tweeted: “Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. My warmest regards and apologies to the @ WEF!”

• USA Today posted an article titled: “President Trump cancels Davos trip because of government shutdown”. From the article:

President Donald Trump said Thursday he is canceling this month’s trip to a high-profile economic conference in Davos, Switzerland, because of the partial government shutdown…

…The tweet is a sign the shutdown could last at least another 11 days — he was scheduled to leave on Jan. 21 for the Davos conference that starts the next day.

He tweeted out the announcement while en route to a border inspection tour in southern Texas, part of his ongoing effort to pressure congressional Democrats into signing off on a $5.7 billion plan for a border wall — the key issue in the budget impasse that led to a shutdown.

In his tweet, Trump blamed the Democrats for both the shutdown and the Davos cancellation, and said he would stay in the United States on Jan. 21 and 22 because of “the great importance of Safety for our Nation.”…

…This would have been Trump’s second straight appearance at Davos, a wonky-yet-glitzy event that draws many opponents of the president…

• The Hill posted an article titled: “Trump promises to pay federal workers after shutdown”. From the article:

President Trump has promised Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) that he will sign a bill providing backpay to federal workers once the government shutdown, which has stretched into 20 days, finally ends.

The Senate passed by unanimous consent legislation Thursday evening providing that federal workers — essential and furloughed employees — will be paid once the shutdown is over…

…Trump made his pledge in a phone call with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as part of an effort to work out a deal to adjourn the Senate this week.

Kaine, who represents thousands of federal workers in Northern Virginia, threatened to block the adjournment resolution unless GOP leaders provided some assurance that they would be taken care of for time and paychecks missed because of the shutdown…

…The Senate will reconvene at 10 a.m. Friday…

• President Trump tweeted: “President Obama, thank you for you great support — I have been saying this all along”. The tweet included an 8-second video of former President Barack Obama, with former Vice President Joe Biden at his side.

• AP posted an article titled: “AP FACT CHECK: Trump falsely claims Obama support for wall”. From the article:

With the deceptive use of a video, President Donald Trump on Thursday heartily thanked his White House predecessor for supporting his policy at the Mexican border. Barack Obama has offered no such support; only criticism…

…THE FACTS: Obama’s remarks in the short video clip do not support Trump’s proposal for a border wall or endorse the path Trump is considering now: declaring a national emergency that might enable him to circumvent Congress and unilaterally spend money on the wall. Instead, Obama was asking Congress to approve an emergency appropriation to deal with a surge of tens of thousands of unaccompanied children and youth, mostly from Central America, trying to cross the border from Mexico.

“We now have an actual humanitarian crisis on the border,” Obama said that the time, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden. He was referring specifically to the surge of minors that year…

• The FBI Agents Association posted a petition to the White House and Congressional Leaders signed by representatives of all FBI Agent Association field offices across the country. From the petition:

…On Friday, January 11, 2019, FBI agents will not be paid due to the partial shutdown, but we will continue our work protecting the nation. We urge our elected representatives. to fund the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the FBI because financial security is a matter of national security.

FBI Special Agents are subject to high security standards that include rigorous and routine financial background checks to ensure that Agents are financially stable and responsible. Missing payments or debts could create delays in securing or renewing security clearances, and could even disqualify Agents from continuing to serve in some cases.

The operations of the FBI require funding. As the shutdown continues, Special Agents remain at work for the American people without being paid, and FBI leadership is doing all it can to fund FBI operations with increasingly limited resources — this situation is not sustainable. The important work done by the Bureau needs to be funded immediately.

Pay uncertainty undermines the FBI’s ability to recruit and retain high-caliber professionals. Special Agents are skilled professionals who have a variety of employment options in the private sector. The ongoing financial insecurity caused by the failure to fund the FBI could lead some FBI agents to consider career options that provide more stability for their families…

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted information titled: “FDA 2019 Lapse in Funding Information”. It was updated on January 10, 2019. From the information:

In the absence of either an FY 2019 appropriation or a Continuing Resolution for FDA, beginning on December 22, 2018, and continuing until he date of enactment of an FY 2019 appropriation or Continuing Resolution (“lapse period”), agency operations continue to the extend permitted by law, such as activities necessary to address imminent threats to the safety of human life and activities funded by carryover user fee funds….

…During the lapse period, the agency will be continuing vital activities, that are critical to ensuring public health and safety in the United States. The mission critical, public health activities that will continue include, among other things: maintaining core functions to handle and respond to emergencies — such as monitoring for and quickly responding to outbreaks related to foodborne illnesses and the flu, supporting high-risk food and medical product recall when products endanger consumers and patients, pursuing civil investigations when we believe public health is imminently at risk and pursuing criminal investigations, screening food and medical products that are imported to the U.S. to protect consumers and patients from harmful products, and addressing other critical surveillance for significant safety concerns with medical devices and other medical products will also continue…

January 11, 2019: Day 21 of the Partial Shutdown

• CNBC posted an article titled: “The partial US government shutdown is tied for the longest ever as Trump border wall fight rages on”. From the article:

The partial U.S. government shutdown entered its 21st day Friday, tying the record for longest lapse in federal funding…

…The longest previous shutdown lasted three weeks during December 1995 and January 1996. It followed a budget spat between President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich…

• USA Today posted an article titled: “Today should be payday for thousands of government workers. But the shutdown means they’re not getting paid”. From the article:

…It was supposed to be payday. But paychecks are on hold for some 800,000 federal employees forced to go on unpaid leave or work without pay since Dec. 22 because of the government shutdown.

It’s the first time during the 21-day shutdown — which on Saturday will become the longest in U.S. history — that workers will have missed a paycheck. Though the standoff is nearing its fourth week, most federal employees were paid on Dec. 28 for the final two-week pay period of 2018.

Now with no paycheck coming in the foreseeable future, many are wondering how they will make ends meet…

• The Guardian posted an article titled: “How the government shutdown could affect your health”. From the article:

…The FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of about 80% of the US food system. Inspectors looking for “rodents, feces, unsanitary practices” at even high-risk facilities have been furloughed. A small number are expected to resume work mid-January, but it still leaves a huge chunk of the food system at risk [Sarah] Sorscher [deputy director of regulatory affairs at Center for Science in the Public Interest] said…

…“Families may not fully understand that Wic is open for business. Retail grocers may not understand that Wic is open for business,” said Douglas A Greenway, the CEO of the National Wic Association, about the Women, Infants, Children (Wic) food subsidies program. WIC programs feed more than half the infants born in the United States…

..Preventative health clinics and food pantries run by the Indian Health Service are shut down, and only services that meet the “immediate needs of patients, medical staff, and medical facilities,” continue.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is operating with a bare-bones staff, and can’t provide exposure assessments or technical assistance to local and state partners. Their capacity to ensure safe drinking water is limited…

• President Trump tweeted: “I often said during rallies, with little variation, that “Mexico will pay for the Wall.” We have just signed a great new Trade Deal with Mexico. It is Billions of Dollars a year better than the very bad NAFTA deal which it replaces. The difference pays for the Wall may times over!”

• Vox posted an article (on January 10, 2019) titled: “Trump’s bogus claim that his new trade deal will pay for the border wall, explained.” From the article:

…But Trump’s claims that either Mexico is paying for the wall through the USMCA or that the USMCA deal will “indirectly” finance the wall doesn’t add up.

For starters, the USMCA deal isn’t even in force. Leaders from three countries signed the USMCA in November, but lawmakers in all three countries must still ratify the agreement. In the US, House Democrats have protested elements of the deal, and even if it makes it through the US Congress eventually and is approved by lawmakers in Mexico and Canada, provisions of the trade deal won’t go into effect until 2020, at the earliers.

The text of the USMCA doesn’t include any specific provisions about a wall or funding for any barrier — and experts say its extremely unlikely that if the trade deal is ratified, it will suddenly generate huge revenues for the US. And even if the US economy does grow as a result of the deal, leading to more tax revenue, the money will come from American taxpayers — whether consumers or businesses — and not from Mexico. (Trump, at least seemed to account for this in his Oval Office speech.)…

…The US International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency, is expected to provide a trade assessment of USMCA by mid-March, which would clarify any potential economic benefit for the US, and over how long a period the benefits will exist. There’s just one small wrinkle: The agency, it turns out, has “ceased regular operations” because of the government shutdown wrought by Trump’s border wall. It might, Politico reported this week, miss its deadline…

• Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine)posted a press release on her official website titled: “House Passes Bill Authored by Senator Collins, Cardin to Ensure Federal Workers Affected by Shutdowns Receive Retroactive Pay”. From the press release:

With overwhelming bipartisan support, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation today authored by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) that would protect federal and other government workers from the repercussions of the current and future lapses in federal appropriations. Their bill passed the Senate unanimously last night and is now on its way to the President’s desk. On the Senate floor earlier yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that President Trump assured him that he would sign the bill into law.

Last week, Senators Collins and Cardin were joined by 28 Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, which would guarantee that furloughed federal employees will be paid retroactively and stipulates that all employees shall be paid as soon as possible after the lapse in appropriations ends.

The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act previously passed by the Senate by unanimous consent prior to Christmas in the 115th Congress…

…Senators who co-sponsored Senator Collins and Cardin’s legislation include: Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Maize Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Richard Durbin (D-ILL), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tina Smith (D-Minn), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-ILL.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Joe Manchin (D-WV.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Robert Casey (D. Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), Robert Menendez (D -N.J.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Patty Murray (D -Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.)

• • The full text of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act is HERE.

• Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) posted a press release on her official website titled: “Senators Collins, Johnson, Announce Legislation to Pay Federal Employees Required to Work During Shutdown”. From the press release:

U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) today announced legislation to ensure federal workers that are deemed “excepted” and required to come to work each day are paid on time despite the partial government shutdown.

The Shutdown Fairness Act, which was cosponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Todd Young (R-IN), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), comes on the heels of Congress passing legislation authored by Senators Collins and Ben Cardin (D-MD) that will ensure that all federal workers affected by the shutdown receive retroactive pay…

…Background on the Shutdown Fairness Act:

Provides pay to an estimated 420,000 personnel currently working without pay, including personnel from Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, Transportation, Treasury, Forest Service, NASA, and SEC.

Authorizes the use of unappropriated funds to pay personnel previously designated as “excepted” in accordance with section 124 of OMB Circular No. A-11. This is similar to the 2013 Pay Our Military Act, passed by the 113th Congress.

“Excepted” individuals include those who are performing emergency work, or performing work involving the safety of human life or protection of property.

• NATCA (National Air Traffic Controllers Association) posted information on their website titled: “NATCA Sues Government Over Failure to Pay Members for Work Performed During Shutdown”. From the information:

This morning, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIO (NATCA) filed a lawsuit in the United States District of Columbia on behalf of its members who have not been paid for their work since the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) appropriations lapsed in late December. Molly Elkin, Partner, at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Woodley & McGillivary LLP, is counsel on the case.

NATCA requested an expedited hearing on its motion for a Temporary Restraining Order against the United States government for its violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. NATCA alleges that the government unlawfully deprived NATCA members of their earned wages without due process.

The suit also alleges violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for failure to pay at least the minimum wage to air traffic controllers and other NATCA members who are excepted from the furloughs during the government shutdown. Finally, it alleges that the FAA failed to promptly pay overtime to NATCA members in violation of the FLSA. On behalf of its members, NATCA seeks an order requiring the government to pay its members for the work they have performed as well as liquidated damages…

• Miami International Airport posted information titled: “MIA travel tips in response to federal funding lapse”. From the information:

As a precautionary measure due to uncertainties created by the lapse in federal government funding, some passengers at Miami International Airport may experience changes to their security checkpoint and departure gate this weekend. MIA does not anticipate any significant impacts to flight schedules or the passenger experience from any gate changes. …

• The Hill posted an article titled: Federal employee unions sue over shutdown”. From the article:

Federal employee unions filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that the government is violating federal labor laws by requiring employees deemed “essential” to continue working through the partial shutdown without pay.

The lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington D.C., was brought by the National Federation of Federal Employees, the National Association of Government Employees SEIU, the National Weather Service Employees Organization and the law firm Snider & Associates on behalf of federal workers.

The 19-page complaint accuses the federal government of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying workers overtime and minimum wage…

• NPR posted an article titled: “Despite Shutdown, Trump Administration Continued Effort to Expand Alaska Oil Drilling”. From the article:

…But, despite the shutdown, the Trump administration is continuing work on one of the Interior’s biggest, most controversial priorities: opening up more Arctic lands in Alaska to drilling.

The Bureau of Land Management, an agency under the Interior, has gone ahead with a series of public meetings on its effort to expand oil development in the 22-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

E-mails obtained by Alaska Public Media show that on January 3 — two weeks into the shutdown — a BLM employee was contacting Alaska community leaders to schedule meetings related to oil lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Congress legalized drilling in the refuge just over one year ago, after decades of opposition from conservation groups…

• NPR posted an article titled: “‘Tidal Wave’: Hundreds Of Coast Guard Families Show Up To Pop-Up Boston Food Pantry”. From the article:

…In Boston this week, a pop-up food pantry opened for men and women of the Coast Guard, the only branch of the armed forces working without pay.

Coasties, as they’re called, who usually rush in to rescue others in peril, stepped up to help their own, forming a bucket brigade to ferry 30,000 pounds of groceries off trucks and onto shelves in the corner of a cafeteria. They stocked everything from milk to medicine, and cereal to celery, all free for the taking.

Don Cox, president of the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation, which is running the pantry, says nearly 400 families stopped in to help themselves to food in the first two days it was open…

• CTV News posted an article titled: “Amid shutdown, Colorado eatery offers free food to unpaid government workers”. From the article:

A restaurant in Colorado Springs, Colo., is offering free food to federal workers who have gone unpaid because of the U.S. government shutdown.

“They’re dedicated public service employees…and we want to help them,” Richard Skorman, who co-owns Poor Richard’s Restaurant, told CTV News Channel. “We’ve had many hundreds of people and their families that take us up on it, so its been very gratifying.”…

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) updated a status that it posted on its website on December 28, 2018. It was titled: “Status of FTC Online Services During 2018 Lapse in Funding”. From the status:

…January 11: 2019 ALERT: The Chairman’s Hearing on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century scheduled for January 16 on the topic of broadband is cancelled due to the Government shutdown. A hearing on broadband will be rescheduled, circumstances permitting.

Some online services may are available and some are not. The status of online services is listed below.

The following services WILL NOT be available during the shutdown:

• National Do Not Call Registry (For consumers

• • National Do Not Call Registry (For telemarketers)

• • Consumer Sentinel Network (For law enforcement)

• • Complaint Assistance (For filing consumer complaints)

• • Identitytheft.gov (For consumers reporting ID theft)

• Econsumer.gov (For consumers reporting international complaints)…

NOTE: Unfortunately, the partial government shutdown did not end after Week Three. You can read about what happened next in my week four blog post.

This blog was originally posted on Medium in two parts. The first part was posted on January 6, 2019, and the second part was posted on January 9, 2019.