Gov’t workers plan walkout to protest Biden’s Gaza policy, Speaker Johnson calls to fire them

A planned protest could see Hamas-sympathizing federal employees in hot water after the House speaker warned of consequences for “abusing the trust of taxpayers.”

Anti-Israel sentiment from the nation’s capital remained hardly unique to congressional figures dubbed the “Jihad Squad,” particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attack. Now, with plans announced for a government walkout Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) cut to the heart of the matter stating, “They deserve to be fired.”

The legislative leader took to X Sunday with a simple message that read, “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. They deserve to be fired.”

“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,” he continued.

Johnson was specifically reacting to a Friday report from Middle Eastern outlet Al-Monitor which had detailed the intentions of a group calling itself Feds United For Peace to partake in a “Day of Mourning” marking 100 days since Israel began its counteroffensive against the terrorists who raped and slaughtered hundreds before taking others hostage.

Claiming to represent at least 22 different federal agencies that included the White House, the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State, as well as the National Security Agency and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration, Feds United for Peace expected “easily hundreds” to walk off the job the day after the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

An organizer for the walkout told Al-Monitor that their initiative “grew out of a collective desire to do what we could to influence the Biden administration’s policy on this issue,” which has continually shifted more toward siding with Gaza.

“What you’re seeing with this effort is something very unusual, and that is for dissent to be manifested via a physical act,” the unidentified individual continued.

Previously, about 400 federal employees had anonymously penned a demand for a ceasefire in an open letter to Congress that claimed, “We are Jewish and Muslim staffers and allied staff across the Hill,” who chose not to name themselves “out of concern for our personal safety, risk of violence, and the impact on our professional credibility on Capitol Hill.”

“Today, we write to implore our bosses, Members of the United States Congress, to join calls for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Millions of lives hang in the balance, including the 2.3 million civilians — half of whom are children — in Gaza, civilians in Israel, and Jews and Muslims around the world,” they wrote.

A walkout Tuesday would only be the latest in a parade of ongoing pro-Hamas assemblies across the capital on the heels of a Saturday protest outside the White House that required U.S. Secret Service to evacuate non-essential personnel.

Reacting to Johnson’s warning of “disciplinary proceedings,” organizers for Feds United for Peace told the outlet, “This is not a strike. This is a day of mourning. The purpose is to provide space for ourselves to mourn and heal. We serve the American people every day and do so with conviction and pride,” before adding, “sometimes, our leaders take actions counter to our values, and the broader values of the American people. We have a right to freedom of expression too, and our views express only those in our personal capacities.”

Kevin Haggerty

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