Late-night television is back in the new year, but the government isn’t. As the government shutdown continues, Jimmy Kimmel made a vow to give federal workers jobs until it ends.
“Tonight, and every night until the shutdown is over, we’re gonna put a federal employee to work here at the show,” Kimmel said.
It began Monday night when he brought on John Kostelnik, a Law Enforcement Prison Guard at the Federal Correctional Complex in California, to play the tambourine in the stage band.
This latest government shutdown, the second-longest in the nation’s history, occurred when talks broke down between congressional leaders and the White House over a spending deal. President Donald Trump demanded the deal include funds to build his wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. More recently, he threatened to declare a national emergency as an attempt to circumvent Congress when leaders continued to push back.
“This is day 17 of the government shutdown, nearly 800,000 federal employees are working without pay,” Kimmel said Monday in slamming “Humpty Trumpty.” “And that is Donald Trump doing what Donald Trump does best, not paying the people who work for him. That is where he shines. He’s threatening now to declare a national emergency to fund this wall, which is that something that he needs to declare? Every day of this presidency is a national emergency.”
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