Nearly 8,000 Oklahomans forced to go without pay during government shutdown

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By: Nate Morris, senior editor

WASHINGTON, DC – As the federal government shutdown enters into its 18th day and President Trump prepares to address the nation Tuesday in order to justify it, thousands of workers in the state of Oklahoma have been forced into financial uncertainty.

According to research from the Washington Post, nearly 8,000 of the 49,000 Oklahomans who work for the federal government are currently not receiving a paycheck.

Many of these individuals work in roles with the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior and others, providing critical services to citizens throughout the state.

With no end in sight, President Trump has prepared a national address on immigration from the oval office Tuesday night. According to a statement from the White House Director of Strategic Communications, Mercedes Schlapp, the president will focus on selling issues at the border as a “humanitarian crisis”.

Many have speculated that the president is gearing up to declare a “national emergency” in order to bypass congress and fulfill his campaign promise of building a boarder wall.

The address will air at 8PM CT and will be carried on all major networks.  Networks will also reportedly provide time for congressional democrats to respond.

If no solution is found by the end of the week, this shutdown will officially become the longest in United States history.  As that reality looms, the 7,900 federal workers in Oklahoma (and 800,000 nationwide) who have had their salary stripped from them, are living in limbo and wondering how they will be able to pay their bills.

Congressional Democrats continue to offer up and vote on legislation to reopen the government with a smaller portion of the White House’s $5 Billion demand for the border wall. President Trump continues to reiterate his belief that furloughed workers are on his side and want for the shutdown to continue as long as necessary, telling congressional leaders he doesn’t like the word “shutdown”, and would prefer instead to call it a “strike”.

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