1. United States
2. Okla.
3. Letter

I am a registered Republican, a military veteran and a current furloughed federal employee. 30% of us who serve in the federal workforce have served in our great military. Instead of insulting us with layoffs, threats to violate standing federal law to withhold our back pay, the House needs to return to Washington DC and hammer out a compromise with Democratic leadership to reopen the federal government. The insults and refusal to be in DC and get this worked out is alienating me from my own party. I don’t know how I’ll be able to hold my nose and vote for Republican leaders going forward after enduring this unbelievably insulting behavior from Republican leadership. The federal service is not monolithic. Get the House back in session and try to figure this out. This all came to a head when President Trump told Republicans in September “not to work with democrats” and having done so has created a negotiating impasse. It’s time to acknowledge that strategic error and get this figured out.