Partisan Squabbles Degrade Public Servants — at America’s Risk

Shamila N. Chaudhary wrote an op-ed for the Hill about the government shutdown.

President Donald Trump has been fulfilling his campaign promise to “drain the swamp,” keeping thousands of workers in the federal government at home without pay during the longest government shutdown in American history, while others have been working without pay.

This shutdown, unlike others, has taken place on the back of the administration’s concerted effort to minimize the influence and reduce personnel numbers of the administrative state. Beyond exemplifying the partisan dysfunction of Washington, the shutdown effectively has communicated that not all public servants are created equal.

Take the case of the U.S. Department of State, a frontline agency in protecting foreign policy and national security interests. Its workers either have been furloughed or working without pay, while the Department of Defense (DOD) and intelligence agencies have remained largely untouched by the shutdown. This particular disparity sent a clear message that the State Department is less important than DOD or the CIA. In reality, these agencies perform complementary functions and must operate collaboratively to protect American interests.