Furloughed in Mineral Wells: One Family’s Fight to Stay Afloat During the Federal Shutdown
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Reporting By Gary Norman / Mineral Wells Area News
Editor’s note: “Joan” is a pseudonym used to protect the identity of a local federal employee who requested anonymity due to employment restrictions during the ongoing government shutdown.
As the federal government shutdown stretches into its third week, local federal employee “Joan” — not her real name, as she requested anonymity — says the stalemate in Washington could devastate her family’s finances.
Joan sat down with Mineral Wells Area News over coffee and a strawberry drink to describe what it’s like to be furloughed and suddenly without income. Her voice broke several times as she spoke about the uncertainty ahead.
“There was no question,” she said. “The Republicans wanted one thing, the Democrats wanted another. Neither side was going to give in. We knew there was going to be no win for us.”
Joan began her federal service about 10 years ago with the General Services Administration, performing administrative and clerical work she enjoyed. She said she felt she was “contributing to the greater good” while building a stable life for her family.
That sense of security ended on the night of Sept. 30 when lawmakers failed to reach a spending agreement. On Oct. 1, she and her coworkers were given four hours to shut down operations — change voicemail greetings, set out-of-office emails, turn in timesheets, and leave. They were paid only through Oct. 1, leaving them short the remainder of the week.
To ease the loss, Joan applied for Texas unemployment benefits. The state waived her job-search reporting requirement but has yet to process her claim, she said, because it has not received her wage records from the federal government — records that may not be transmitted until employees return to work.
Her husband still works, but his paycheck does not cover all household expenses. Joan received only a partial paycheck on Oct. 10 and does not expect another on Oct. 24.
“Thankfully, my bills for October are paid,” she said, “but that check on the 24th goes to pay the first month of November. When you don’t have that, there go the calls to the mortgage company, the credit-card company, the lien holders — to see if you can defer those payments.”
Even if she can delay payments, Joan worries about accumulating interest and late fees. Her health insurance remains active, but she fears she may later owe back premiums once pay resumes.
According to Federal News Network reporting, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 generally authorizes backpay for furloughed workers, but a recent draft opinion circulating within the White House suggests that funding still requires a congressional appropriation.
“And so that’s what they’re saying now,” Joan said. “That [President] Trump is going to decide who’s going to get back-paid and who’s not.”
If the shutdown continues, Joan said, she may have to sell her home. With the housing market softening, she doubts she could recover its value.
“You can just get out from underneath it and have maybe a little to buy an RV or something to live in,” she said quietly.
She wants the public to understand that furloughed workers are “not pawns.”
“There doesn’t need to be a shutdown — there needs to be negotiations,” Joan said. “They don’t care what they’re doing to us financially, mentally, emotionally. They don’t care what’s happening to families. They need to stop playing with us.”
As of Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, the U.S. Senate had failed for the 11th time to pass a funding measure to reopen the government. For workers like Joan, each failed vote deepens the uncertainty. Joan told Mineral Wells Area News that she has no hope at this time that anything will change soon.
