D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) is urging President Trump to work with Congress to end the partial federal government shutdown, saying the indefinite closure hurts the city’s residents and businesses. “During a shutdown, there are no winners and our nation’s federal workers, including the 170,000 federal employees who work in Washington, DC, pay the highest price,” Bowser said in a letter Wednesday. The District’s Department of Employment Services, which administers unemployment benefits for city residents, expects claims to surge next week after pending paychecks have been received. City officials say they received an extra 5,000 unemployment claims during the last extended government shutdown. Roughly 800,000 workers nationwide have been affected in the shutdown, which extends to a quarter of the federal government.

Source: Washington Post December 27, 2018 15:21 UTC