Rep. Jackie Speier blasts President Trump, calls shutdown and impacts to federal employees "a repugnant set of circumstances"

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Saturday, January 19, 2019
Rep. Jackie Speier blasts President Trump over shutdown impacts
About 8,000 federal workers remain out of work, or are on the job without pay as the partial government shutdown continues.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- As of Friday, 800,000 federal workers remain out of work, or are on the job without pay as the partial government shutdown continues.

Furloughed workers and the rest of the country are waiting to learn what President Donald Trump's big announcement will be. He's expected to deliver the news on Saturday.

The president tweeted a clear, yet cryptic message on Friday.

His tweet read, "I will be making a major announcement concerning the Humanitarian Crisis on our Southern Border, and the Shutdown, tomorrow afternoon at 3 P.M., live from the White House."

RELATED: IRS recalling 46,000 workers to handle taxes without pay

"The Humanitarian Crisis that the president talks about at the border is actually happening right here in our country," Rep. Jackie Speier announced Friday.

Speier hosted furloughed workers inside her district office on Friday afternoon. The Congresswoman took aim at the president who has refused to agree to a budget, unless he gets money for a wall along the Mexican Border.

Federal workers are continuing to bear the brunt of the political standoff.

"Frankly, we don't have anything to do with the wall," Mark Sims with the Engineers and Scientists of California union said. "My members are asking me, 'Why are we being punished for this wall?'"

RELATED: Bay Area residents getting creative to make ends meet during government shutdown

Sims and hundreds of thousands of other federal workers are still struggling to make ends meet. Some employees claim they are now facing eviction and fear subsequent homelessness.

"This is a repugnant set of circumstances," Speier said.

Organizations and restaurants around the Bay Area are helping those who are hurting.

ABC7 News was there as the Alameda County Community Food Bank made its third delivery of the week to workers with families to feed, at Oakland International Airport.

Friday's delivery included 700-pounds of food, and fresh fruit.

Michael Altfest with the Alameda County Community Food Bank told ABC7 News, "We are prepared to do this work as long as the federal workers need our assistance."

President Trump has spoken in recent weeks about declaring a "national emergency" at the border. However, as of Friday night, a senior administration official said the president will instead propose a deal to end the nearly month-long shutdown.

See more stories and information about the government shutdown.