Updated October 10, 2025 at 5:51 AM PDT

As the government shutdown stretches into its second week, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are not working — and more are not getting paid. The White House has thrown into question whether some will ever be made whole .

Still, for the first time in awhile, Monica Gorman is upbeat.

"I'm feeling energized, honestly," says Gorman. "It's felt for so long to me like federal workers have just been screaming into a void."

Gorman works at NASA and is a member of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers (IFPTE). She spoke in her personal capacity and not on behalf of the government.

Long before Congress failed to pass a funding bill, the Trump administration essentially started shutting down the government bit by bit,

See Full Page