GOP lawmaker breezes right past pushback to shame federal workers over shutdown ‘vacation’

A Republican lawmaker breezed through a challenge from CNN’s Erica Hill after he suggested federal workers were playing “political games” with their own jobs.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) appeared Wednesday on “CNN This Morning,” hours into a federal government shutdown after Congress was unable to reach an agreement on a funding bill to carry into the the start of this fiscal year. The lawmaker said federal workers could blunt the impact by continuing to show up for work.

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“I think where we’re at right now is, you know, the rules currently, folks who we furloughed will still get paid when they come back,” Haridopolos said. “That is the current rule.

“So they’re literally, some people crassly would say they’re getting a paid vacation. They’re going home knowing full well when this government opens back up, they’re getting paid. I think that, as a military person, like, my son is in the Air Force, that the common-sense thing is, if you’re in public service, you should know that, in these political times, you should show up to work, because that’s the goal. We’re all paying for this one way or the other. Let’s have people at work and not play these political games. It’s what we did in Florida.”

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Hill was dubious of the congressman’s explanation and challenged his point.

“It’s not the workers playing the political games,” she said, “to your point, right?”

Haridopolos brushed right past her challenge.

“That’s why I think we should change the rules,” he said. “I think if you’re a federal worker, you should show up to work knowing full well when the government opens back up you’re going to get paid. That’s the give-and-take. They’re very generous federal benefits versus a lot of people in the private sector.

“They should recognize when you’re a federal worker that when they have these political events happening, that they know they’re going to be paid on the back side, and that’s what’s happening. You know the rules.”