For Immediate Release
October 17, 2025
Contact: Communications Director Nikki Gamer | Cell #: (978) 884-0003 | gamer@afsa.org

Washington, D.C. – Today marks the 17th day of a federal government shutdown. Each day without a resolution inflicts deeper damage on both the United States’ ability to conduct diplomacy, and the lives and morale of those who serve our country abroad.

Members of the U.S. Foreign Service are holding the line for American interests around the world, often in hardship conditions, in danger zones, or at understaffed posts. Yet they are now doing so without pay, without local support systems, and without the assurance that their service is even recognized.

In the United States, federal workers may be eligible for unemployment benefits or have access to food banks. Many of those stationed overseas do not.

October 16 was described by one Foreign Service Officer as “the lowest morale day I have ever experienced as a federal employee.”

The longer this shutdown lasts, the more at risk we become of losing a generation of talented Foreign Service members—American patriots who are now asking, “Why are we being treated as expendable?”

Politics stops at the water’s edge. AFSA urges the nation’s leaders to show the same urgency and care for every federal worker that you show for the military. End the brinkmanship holding federal employees hostage. AFSA also calls on the nation’s former leaders—retired ambassadors, former secretaries of state, and national security officials—to advocate for all public servants, and to do so loudly.

When American diplomacy stalls, Americans ultimately pay the price.

We asked our active-duty Foreign Service members what they wanted Americans to understand about the shutdown. The following quotes were shared with us anonymously.

“Last week I helped assist the family of a young U.S. citizen who died accidentally, resolved a benefits issue for a destitute elderly U.S. citizen, and visited a wrongfully detained U.S. citizen in one of the world’s most notorious prisons. It isn’t right to leave employees like me — who are willing to put our safety on the line for this job — without a paycheck.”

“This is extremely wasteful of the taxpayers’ dollar. Hundreds of Foreign Service Officers are receiving per diem to be in DC for training, but not receiving said training. Likely, the majority will have to [move on to our assignments] without the necessary training to do our jobs. We will then have to learn on the job, slowing down our teams at post, and rendering our overseas missions less effective.”

“The shutdown costs us. All actions become more complicated and inefficient. Friendly nations pity us; hostile nations laugh at us.”

“Americans should understand that the shutdown doesn’t just pause government operations — it weakens our ability to compete globally. As an economic officer focused on technology, I rely on timely engagement with foreign governments and U.S. companies to advance American innovation and market access. When funding stops, critical partnerships stall, and our competitors fill the void. The long-term cost isn’t just lost productivity — it’s lost influence for the United States in the industries shaping the future.”

“It creates vacuums that our adversaries are very happy to fill - around defense, intelligence, markets, treaties, partnerships, influence … If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

“Our alliances, and our ability to foster goodwill that benefits American citizen safety, businesses, study, travel, and work overseas is being negatively harmed. Side note: Some of us are rotating furlough. This may mean that we are not able to claim unemployment benefits permitted to those who are furloughed entirely.”

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) is the professional association and labor union of the men and women of the United States Foreign Service.