Coast Guard chief slams shutdown, calls it 'unacceptable' his service members must 'rely on food pantries'

Coast Guard chief slams shutdown
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/ComdtUSCG)

The 32-day-old government shutdown is leaving marks, and not just on the 800,000 federal employees about to miss their second paycheck.

On Tuesday, the Transportation Security Administration sent out a letter requesting at least 250 TSA agents in 10 states to move to airports hit hard by employees calling in sick, CNN reports, travel and hotels paid for by Uncle Sam (eventually). So many USDA meat inspectors are calling in sick that the department briefly ordered them to bring doctor's notes for every sick day, and federal prisons are making secretaries and janitors patrol the halls and yards, The Washington Post reports. On Tuesday, the FBI Agents Association issued a report detailing shutdown-induced paralysis at the nation's top law enforcement agency.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.