Hundreds of Biden Administration employees are planning a walkout on Tuesday.
According to organizers from a group called "Feds United for Peace," government workers across 22 departments intend to walk out of their jobs to protest the Biden administration's stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
The group objects to Joe Biden refusing to send aid to Gaza (even though he did) while sending roughly $14 billion in aid to Israel, as well as military support. The planned walkout is part of a planned "Day of Mourning" to mark the 100th day of Israel's military operation in Gaza.
The New York Post has more.
The organizers of Tuesday’s expected protest told AL-Monitor they believe “hundreds” of other workers will join after staffers from 22 federal agencies pledged to walk out.
The workers include employees of the Executive Office of the President; the departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs; as well as the National Security Agency, the outlet reported.
Additionally, members of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Naval Research Laboratory, the National Park Service, the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency are also expected to protest during the work day, per the outlet.
“What you’re seeing with this effort is something very unusual, and that is for the dissent to be manifested via a physical act,” one organizer told AL-Monitor.
Joe Biden hasn’t actually been the best ally to Israel. The Biden administration reportedly tried to cover up that it knew about the planned assault on Israel. Biden repeatedly sought to get Israel to postpone its ground assault in Gaza, even forcing a delay by not having adequate defenses in place at U.S. military installations in the area.
Despite these facts, his public support of Israel over Hamas has undoubtedly hurt his poll numbers among antisemitic Democratic voters. After expressing unwavering support for Israel following the Hamas attack, Gallup reported a double-digit decline in support from his base. His approval ratings also hit all-time lows in various polls, mostly due to bipartisan disapproval of his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has issued a warning to any government worker thinking of walking off the job: don’t.
"Any government worker who walks off the job to protest U.S. support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers,” he said in a post on X/Twitter. "They deserve to be fired."
Johnson added, "Oversight Chairman Comer and I will be working together to ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings against any person who walks out on their job."
This planned walkout is just the latest effort to compel Biden to change his policy toward Israel. Earlier this month, a group of Biden campaign staffers published an open letter on Medium urging Joe Biden to establish a "permanent ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas. They also demanded that he advocate for de-escalation, end unconditional military aid to Israel, investigate Israel for human rights violations, and "take concrete steps to end the conditions of apartheid, occupation, and ethnic cleansing that are the root causes of this conflict."
The letter also warned Biden that failure to change his policy would threaten his chances for reelection. Two Biden officials have also resigned.
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