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"There are countless stories of families' holidays being upended by Trump's obstinance causing the shutdown, as so many of them live paycheck-to-paycheck. Then [the Office of Personnel Management] comes through with this tone-deaf tweet telling them to check with their 'personal attorney,'" progressive activist Jordan Uhl wrote. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
'Shameful': As Shutdown Continues, Trump Administration Suggests Unpaid Federal Workers Do Odd Jobs for Landlords to Cover Rent
The Office of Personnel Management said furloughed government employees could do "painting," "carpentry," or other odd jobs "in exchange for partial rent payments."
Dec 27, 2018
With the partial government shutdown expected to extend into January with no funding agreement in sight, the Trump administration suggested on Thursday that the hundreds of thousands of unpaid federal workers who have been furloughed could do odd jobs and chores for their landlords to help cover rent.
In a tweet on Thursday, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)--led by Margaret Weichert, whom President Donald Trump picked to head the agency in October--offered a Word document featuring sample letters purportedly aimed at helping unpaid federal workers negotiate with landlords, mortgage companies, and creditors amid the government shutdown, which was caused by Trump's demand for $5 billion in border wall funding.
\u201cFeds, here are sample letters you may use as a guide when working with your creditors during this furlough. If you need legal advice please consult with your personal attorney. https://t.co/t6h6OzALsS\u201d— U.S. Office of Personnel Management (@U.S. Office of Personnel Management) 1545924086
"I will keep in touch with you to keep you informed about my income status and I would like to discuss with you the possibility of trading my services to perform maintenance (e.g. painting, carpentry work) in exchange for partial rent payments," reads the sample letter to a landlord.
The Trump administration's advice, which was met with outrage, came as Republican lawmakers announced after extremely short sessions on Thursday that there has been no progress toward reopening the government--meaning the shutdown that has left hundreds of thousands of workers without pay will continue into the new year.
"There are countless stories of families' holidays being upended by Trump's obstinance causing the shutdown, as so many of them live paycheck-to-paycheck. Then OPM comes through with this tone-deaf tweet telling them to check with their 'personal attorney,'" progressive activist Jordan Uhl noted, highlighting the federal workers' personal accounts of how they have been harmed by the lapse in government funding.
"It's shameful," journalist Celeste Pewter wrote of the fact that workers are being forced to "appeal to the goodwill of creditors, landlords, and mortgage companies" to get by.
"Let's keep up the pressure on our electeds--particularly GOP ones--to end this shutdown," Pewter concluded.
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With the partial government shutdown expected to extend into January with no funding agreement in sight, the Trump administration suggested on Thursday that the hundreds of thousands of unpaid federal workers who have been furloughed could do odd jobs and chores for their landlords to help cover rent.
In a tweet on Thursday, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)--led by Margaret Weichert, whom President Donald Trump picked to head the agency in October--offered a Word document featuring sample letters purportedly aimed at helping unpaid federal workers negotiate with landlords, mortgage companies, and creditors amid the government shutdown, which was caused by Trump's demand for $5 billion in border wall funding.
\u201cFeds, here are sample letters you may use as a guide when working with your creditors during this furlough. If you need legal advice please consult with your personal attorney. https://t.co/t6h6OzALsS\u201d— U.S. Office of Personnel Management (@U.S. Office of Personnel Management) 1545924086
"I will keep in touch with you to keep you informed about my income status and I would like to discuss with you the possibility of trading my services to perform maintenance (e.g. painting, carpentry work) in exchange for partial rent payments," reads the sample letter to a landlord.
The Trump administration's advice, which was met with outrage, came as Republican lawmakers announced after extremely short sessions on Thursday that there has been no progress toward reopening the government--meaning the shutdown that has left hundreds of thousands of workers without pay will continue into the new year.
"There are countless stories of families' holidays being upended by Trump's obstinance causing the shutdown, as so many of them live paycheck-to-paycheck. Then OPM comes through with this tone-deaf tweet telling them to check with their 'personal attorney,'" progressive activist Jordan Uhl noted, highlighting the federal workers' personal accounts of how they have been harmed by the lapse in government funding.
"It's shameful," journalist Celeste Pewter wrote of the fact that workers are being forced to "appeal to the goodwill of creditors, landlords, and mortgage companies" to get by.
"Let's keep up the pressure on our electeds--particularly GOP ones--to end this shutdown," Pewter concluded.
With the partial government shutdown expected to extend into January with no funding agreement in sight, the Trump administration suggested on Thursday that the hundreds of thousands of unpaid federal workers who have been furloughed could do odd jobs and chores for their landlords to help cover rent.
In a tweet on Thursday, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)--led by Margaret Weichert, whom President Donald Trump picked to head the agency in October--offered a Word document featuring sample letters purportedly aimed at helping unpaid federal workers negotiate with landlords, mortgage companies, and creditors amid the government shutdown, which was caused by Trump's demand for $5 billion in border wall funding.
\u201cFeds, here are sample letters you may use as a guide when working with your creditors during this furlough. If you need legal advice please consult with your personal attorney. https://t.co/t6h6OzALsS\u201d— U.S. Office of Personnel Management (@U.S. Office of Personnel Management) 1545924086
"I will keep in touch with you to keep you informed about my income status and I would like to discuss with you the possibility of trading my services to perform maintenance (e.g. painting, carpentry work) in exchange for partial rent payments," reads the sample letter to a landlord.
The Trump administration's advice, which was met with outrage, came as Republican lawmakers announced after extremely short sessions on Thursday that there has been no progress toward reopening the government--meaning the shutdown that has left hundreds of thousands of workers without pay will continue into the new year.
"There are countless stories of families' holidays being upended by Trump's obstinance causing the shutdown, as so many of them live paycheck-to-paycheck. Then OPM comes through with this tone-deaf tweet telling them to check with their 'personal attorney,'" progressive activist Jordan Uhl noted, highlighting the federal workers' personal accounts of how they have been harmed by the lapse in government funding.
"It's shameful," journalist Celeste Pewter wrote of the fact that workers are being forced to "appeal to the goodwill of creditors, landlords, and mortgage companies" to get by.
"Let's keep up the pressure on our electeds--particularly GOP ones--to end this shutdown," Pewter concluded.
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LATEST NEWS
UN Expert: Send Navies to Break Israeli Blockade, End Genocide in Gaza
"History will not forget," said UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
Aug 14, 2025
The United Nations human rights expert assigned to the Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel is calling on countries around the world to send military forces to end the genocidal Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
Since March 2024, "I've warned the UN I serve at great personal cost: the destruction of Gaza's health system is clear proof of genocidal intent," Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said on social media Wednesday. "I'm in disbelief at its paralysis. States must break the blockade, send NAVIES with aid, and stop the genocide. History will not forget."
Albanese also shared her new joint statement with Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, special rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. They said that "in addition to bearing witness to an ongoing genocide we are also bearing witness to a 'medicide,' a sinister component of the intentional creation of conditions calculated to destroy Palestinians in Gaza which constitutes an act of genocide."
"Deliberate attacks on health and care workers, and health facilities, which are gross violations of international humanitarian law, must stop now," the pair continued. "There is a moral imperative for the international community to end the carnage and allow the people of Gaza to live on their land without fear of attack, killing, and starvation, and free from permanent occupation and apartheid."
Their comments came as a growing number of governments are recognizing the state of Palestine or threatening to do so. In a Wednesday interview with The Guardian, Albanese stressed that the renewed push for Palestinian statehood should not "distract the attention from where it should be: the genocide."
"Ending the question of Palestine in line with international law is possible and necessary: End the genocide today, end the permanent occupation this year, and end apartheid," she said. "This is what's going to guarantee freedom and equal rights for everyone, regardless of the way they want to live—in two states or one state, they will have to decide."
As Common Dreams reported earlier Thursday, Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, claimed that the Israeli and U.S. governments have approved an expansion of settlements in the West Bank, which he said "finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize."
Meanwhile, in Gaza, the 22-month Israeli assault has left the coastal enclave in ruins and killed at least 61,776 Palestinians and wounded 154,906 others—though experts warn the real figures are likely far higher. Those who have survived so far are struggling to access essentials, including food, largely due to Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid and killings of aid-seekers.
On Thursday, over 100 groups—including ActionAid, American Friends Service Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam, and Save the Children—released a letter stressing that since Israel imposed registration rules in early March, most nongovernmental organizations "have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies."
"This obstruction has left millions of dollars' worth of food, medicine, water, and shelter items stranded in warehouses across Jordan and Egypt, while Palestinians are being starved," the letter notes. As of Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry put the hunger-related death toll at 239, including 106 children.
Both the registration process and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation "aim to block impartial aid, exclude Palestinian actors, and replace trusted humanitarian organizations with mechanisms that serve political and military objectives," the letter argues, noting that Israel is moving to "escalate its military offensive and deepen its occupation in Gaza, making clear these measures are part of a broader strategy to entrench control and erase Palestinian presence."
The coalition called on all governments to "press Israel to end the weaponization of aid," insist that NGOS not be "forced to share sensitive personal information," and "demand the immediate and unconditional opening of all land crossings and conditions for the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid."
During an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting on Sunday, Riyad Mansour, the state of Palestine's permanent observer to the UN, formally requested "an immediate international protection force to save the Palestinian people from certain death."
In response, Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the US-based advocacy group DAWN, said in a Tuesday statement, "Now that Palestine has formally requested protection forces, the UN General Assembly should move urgently to mandate such a force under a Uniting for Peace resolution."
"Israel has made clear for the past two years that no amount of pleading, pressure, or negotiation will end its atrocities and deliberate starvation in Gaza; only international peacekeeping forces can achieve that," she added.
'You Have Poked the Bear': Defiant Gavin Newsom Puts Trump on Notice in Speech Pushing New Maps
"Who else sends ICE at the same time while having a conversation like this? Someone who is weak. Someone who's broken. Someone whose weakness is masquerading as a strength," said Newsom.
Aug 14, 2025
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday struck a defiant tone during a political rally in Los Angeles aimed at promoting a ballot initiative that would allow the state legislature to redraw the Golden State's electoral maps.
During his speech, Newsom emphasized his preference to having an independent commission draw up districts in California and across the country. However, he said that U.S. President Donald Trump's push to have Texas Republicans redraw their state's map in the middle of the decade to gain five more Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives has left him with no choice but to return the favor.
"You have poked the bear, and we will punch back," Newsom said during the speech, addressing Trump directly.
The California governor then explained why doing nothing in response to Trump's pressure on Texas is not an option.
"[Trump] doesn't play by a different set of rules—he doesn't believe in the rules," Newsom said. "And as a consequence, we need to disabuse ourselves of the way things have been done. It's not enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight vigil, and talk about way the world should be. We have got to recognize the cards that have been dealt, and we have got to meet fire with fire!"
Newsom also pointed out that several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials had stationed themselves nearby where California Democrats were holding their rally, which he called a deliberate attempt at intimidation.
However, Newsom said that instead of subduing lawmakers and advocates with the mass deportation force, Trump was only exposing his weakness.
"He is a failed president," Newsom declared. "Who else sends ICE at the same time while having a conversation like this? Someone who is weak. Someone who's broken. Someone whose weakness is masquerading as a strength. The most unpopular president in modern history."
Newsom encouraged voters in his state to approve a ballot initiative this coming November 4 that would allow the redrawing of California's congressional map on a temporary basis before returning to the independent commission that has long been used in the state starting in 2030.
Trump Tariffs Are Burdening US Families With 'Back-to-School Tax': Analysis
"Trump's back-to-school message to America's families is crystal clear: Don't expect help, just expect less," said one expert.
Aug 14, 2025
Families of students across the United States are facing significantly higher prices for basic supplies as the new school year begins, a cost burden that a new analysis blames on President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and the massive Republican budget package he signed into law last month.
The analysis, conducted by The Century Foundation (TCF) and Groundwork Collaborative, estimates that prices for supplies such as index cards have surged by more than 40% this year.
Lunch staples have also gotten more expensive, with U.S. families set to pay roughly $163 more on average for juice boxes, strawberries, and other such items this year, according to the new analysis, which characterized the higher costs as a "back-to-school tax" imposed by the president.
"President Trump's policies are forcing families to foot higher bills for back-to-school essentials from binders and lunch-box staples to clothes, shoes, and even laptops," said TCF senior fellow Rachel West. "From his reckless tariffs to his budget law slashing food assistance and federal student loans, Trump's back-to-school message to America's families is crystal clear: Don't expect help, just expect less."
The analysis was released just as new economic data further underscored the impact of Trump's tariffs on prices across the economy, with wholesale prices registering their largest monthly gain since June 2022.
TCF and Groundwork's findings align with a recent survey by the research firm Deloitte, which found that nearly half of U.S. parents and caregivers believe lunch costs on school days will be higher this year than in 2024.
Liz Pancotti, Groundwork's managing director of policy and advocacy, said Thursday that "President Trump's tax and tariff policies have turned the back-to-school season into a budgeting nightmare for hardworking American families."
"From lunch boxes and notebooks to juice boxes and pencils, parents are being squeezed at every turn—paying more for the school supplies and meals their kids need to succeed," said Pancotti. "No family should have to struggle to afford the basics while the wealthy and well-connected cash in on massive tax breaks they do not need."
"Trump's tax and tariff policies have turned the back-to-school season into a budgeting nightmare for hardworking American families."
The budget law that Trump signed last month is set to deliver trillions of dollars in tax breaks largely to the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations while making unprecedented cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid.
Those programs are used in states across the country to determine eligibility for free or reduced-cost school meals, and cuts inflicted by the Trump-GOP law are expected to leave more than 18 million children across the U.S. without access to free school meals in the coming years.
"President Trump's policies—including his erratic, punitive tariffs—are squeezing families' budgets as they prepare to return to school," TCF and Groundwork said Thursday. "Not only has Trump failed to keep his promises to tackle high prices, but his massive budget law will soon drive costs even higher for back-to-school essentials as its cuts to programs that children, families, and college students depend on take hold."
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