I believe the 30th day of the shutdown is the 21st. There is a story out that I could only see the headline because the article is behind a paywall of the NYT but the title is this: White House Redefines who is Essential to get Parts of Government Moving Again Others have posited that democrats have fallen into a Trump trap by taking him up on his claim that he owns the shutdown. Everyone should know that it is almost impossible to fire a government worker. There is a saying in the VA that the only way to get fired is to become a whistle-blower. There is a process available called Reduction in Force (RIF) where after 30 days of furlough (22 work days) government can RIF non-essential personnel. This is a process much easier than firing but of course it would be met with a slew of lawsuits by the federal union I am sure. It is estimated that around 40% of government workers in Washington are working against the administrations agenda. One cannot be removed for political reasons so the RIF has to identify who are and are not essential personnel based on a number of factors like time in service, etc. but it would get rid of many of them along with reducing government cost. Corporations often do this without the barriers government poses and often remove more personnel than necessary then start hiring back some that end up really being needed. Sometimes those that were let go are hired back. In the company that I work for one work acquaintance I knew was let go but said he didn't worry because he would be back next year and sure enough, he was hired back. So by the 22nd, if democrats still refuse to negotiate the administration can start RIFing non-essential personnel. This might get interesting. Personally I have not had so much fun watching the entrenched establishment meltdown over losing the reigns of power over government and over the administration.
