#ShutdownStories hashtag takes off as Twitter users share how government closure affects them

Hundreds of people took to Twitter on Sunday and Monday to share how the government shutdown is affecting them.

Using the hashtag #ShutdownStories, posts from furloughed government workers, their family members and many others accumulated thousands of retweets and favorites in just hours.

The trend appeared to be started by Twitter user @TeaPainUSA, who tweeted to their 418,000 followers a plea to share a tweet using the hashtag.

{mosads}Many respondents said that they lived paycheck to paycheck, and with the government shutdown were worried about mortgage payments or medical expenses.

One woman using the #ShutdownStories hashtag wrote that her husband works as a park ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and that the couple has a 4-year-old and a 4-month-old. She expressed concern that they would not be able to cover holiday expenses or mortgage payments.

We had a baby two months ago (10/24/18); I have been on unpaid leave since then. Husband works with USFS, is our primary earner. Without his income, I don’t know what we will do. We have enough in savings to cover the mortgage in January, but beyond that… ‍♀️#ShutdownStories pic.twitter.com/2EV4qAXC0C

— Little Sarah (@theSarawithanH) December 24, 2018

Another wrote that she “was too sick to work most of the month,” and was relying on a paycheck to cover a car payment.

“Thank you, Mr. President,” she wrote.

We were relying on that paycheck to pay the car payment because I was too sick to work most of the month. Thank you, Mr. President. #ShutdownStories

— Grace Franke (@eskimita01) December 24, 2018

The partial shutdown began Friday after lawmakers failed to reach a deal on government spending over a disagreement on funding for President Trump’s border wall.

On Monday, the leader of one of the largest unions representing government employees said the shutdown was creating financial stress for federal employees.

Other #ShutdownStories posts came from college students who said they were unable to file financial aid forms because of office closures.

#ShutdownStories
All the offices I’d need to visit to go over financial aid are closed for the holidays, but will stay close until the shutdown is over. So I likely can’t go to college next term. Why do government shutdowns screw over literally everyone but the ones responsible?

— Justin James (@L8RG8R2U) December 24, 2018

I had my daughters tricycle listed for sale online. A woman came to buy it and she was a gov’t employee and saving now that she doesn’t know when she’ll go back to work, so she needed to spend less on the bike she was giving her child for Xmas.
I gave it to her. #ShutdownStories

— KHill (@Khillin_It) December 24, 2018

Going to my sister’s for the holidays. Both she and her husband work at NIH. Her biggest concern is feeding her cells. (Her experiments will be rendered useless if the cells aren’t fed apparently). Years of work wasted.

— Valerie Solanas (@ValerieSolanas9) December 24, 2018

I was scheduled to get my biometrics taken today to renew my DACA. The USCIS Application Support Center was closed. My DACA expires soon, I don’t know when my rescheduled appointment will be. #ShutdownStories

— Julio (@DaSilva_7) December 24, 2018

I had cancer surgery first of month and was going to go visit my daughter I haven’t seen in a very long time after Christmas, but without my paycheck I cannot pay for the trip and most likely will not see her again before die @realDonaldTrump is a asshole. #ShutdownStories

— John (@aceokcflyer) December 24, 2018

Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that he expects the shutdown to last into the new year, when Democrats take over the House.