'Outrage Spiking': Federal Workers Occupy Senate Building With 33 Minutes of Angry Silence to End Trump Shutdown

Furloughed federal workers and those aligned with them protest the partial government shutdown in the Hart Senate Office Building January 23, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

'Outrage Spiking': Federal Workers Occupy Senate Building With 33 Minutes of Angry Silence to End Trump Shutdown

"The protest happening right now in the Senate office building is just the start," declared MoveOn.org's Ben Wikler

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Protesting the widespread economic hardship caused by the ongoing shutdown and demanding that the Senate vote to reopen the government, federal workers and their allies gathered inside the Hart Senate Office Building on Wednesday for a 33-minute silent demonstration--one minute for every day the government has been partially closed over President Donald Trump's demand for border wall funding.

"The protest happening right now in the Senate office building is just the start," declared MoveOn.org's Ben Wikler. "Public outrage is spiking. GOP senators are feeling the pressure."

The union-organized demonstration comes as the Senate is set to vote Thursday on two competing measures to reopen the government--a Trump-backed bill that would fund the border wall and a Democratic continuing resolution with no wall money.

After the silence ended, workers led chants of, "No more food banks! Feds need paychecks!"

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