Published December 11, 2025
By JUNE EMERSON
“My coworker’s work visa was about to expire, and with legal services on hold, they [had] prepared to sell their car, give up their rental and return to their home country with their family,” said an employee with the Defense of Language Institute, referring to the effects of the recent 43-day government shutdown.
During the six-week lapse, many government employees went through similar experiences.
Class instruction was temporarily halted, which disrupted students and faculty at the Naval Post Graduate School after the government shutdown ensued. Photo by RICHARD RODGERS
The federal government entered a shutdown after Congress failed to pass the necessary bill to fund government services by Oct. 1, with the majority of disagreements surrounding healthcare cuts. This created the longest U.S. shutdown on record, when many government services closed indefinitely, and around 1.4 million federal employees were furloughed or worked without pay, and echoed the experience government employees had on the Monterey Peninsula.
Joe Xu, DLI Mandarin Chinese instructor and Carmel High School parent, saw a profound impact from the shutdown.
“I was both shocked and confused, as were most of my colleagues,” he said. “The policy was implemented without any warning, and we had to evacuate our office building before the end of the day.”
Seven out of eight students in his class were ordered to return to their original bases across the country directly following the shutdown, and his classes were halted for three weeks. On Oct. 20, they resumed classes through virtual instruction, but efficiency significantly decreased due to time zone differences and internet connectivity that broke the continuity of the program.
The Defense Language Institute appeared empty after many teachers were furloughed, which halted classes and administration. Photo from AMIN ESHAIKER
Along with student changes, a DLI employee who prefers to remain anonymous has also seen considerable restrictions in the work environment.
“Since custodial and IT staff [were] not working, teachers [were] rotating to clean their own spaces,” said the language teacher. “I was buying trash bags, seat covers and teaching supplies out of pocket and distributing them among staff to make up for the loss.”
The institution made clear that leave was not permitted during the shutdown, which limited employee opportunities to seek additional income.
“It [was] painful to see colleagues so worried. Some are losing sleep, and the level of anxiety around me [was] heartbreaking,” she said.
Amid this, there were also moments of community support. Federal employees recall times when students stepped up and helped older teachers who weren’t able to maintain their classroom on their own.
On the financial side, another government employee, also a CUSD parent of three, tries not to think too much about the situation to lessen budgetary anxiety. Although the initial impact of the shutdown was not a surprise to them, as time passed, tasks and financial pressure increased.
Many language programs at the Defense Language Institute had massive change in classroom environments. Courtesy of DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE
“Daily expenses became more conservative,” the civil employee said. “Before I made a purchase, I had to ask myself if it was a necessity, and I had to postpone medical appointments to ensure those necessities could be paid for.”
At this employee’s institution, finding additional income was also forbidden, which greatly increased the burden.
While some employees experienced drastic changes upon returning to the work environment, Naval Postgraduate School faculty member Brian Bingham said everything was back to normal after the initial impact. He was furloughed for two weeks before being accepted back to teach unpaid. To navigate the halt in instruction and avoid graduation delays, his department attempted to assign students two weeks of homework at home.
Another excepted worker, also a DLI employee and CUSD parent of two, had seen no direct change to their classroom.
“Several staff and support positions, such as administrative personnel or faculty support teams without direct contact with students, were furloughed,” the DLI employee said. “This caused some internal processes and administrative communication to slow down and require adjustments.”
For all employees, as the shutdown prolonged, financial strain became an increasing concern.
The human resources department at NPS issued weekly announcements with programs to aid employees in financial need. At DLI, department leadership provided information about available financial and psychological support resources. Many local organizations, banks and service providers also offered temporary flexibility for federal employees experiencing financial strain.
These experiences came to a close Nov. 10, when eight Democrats broke from their party to end the stall. On Nov. 12, President Donald Trump signed the bill funding most federal agencies until Jan. 30, at which point the Senate will have to agree on an annual budget, which is speculated to escalate into another shutdown.
In the meantime, some federal workers received back pay as early as Nov. 15, which includes both furloughed and excepted work, while other organizations in the area haven’t been able to resume business as usual.
