Patricia Gross, 47, has worked as an independent government contractor with various nonprofits since 2018. Those nonprofits are now out of work, and so is Gross.

Guidelines may aid career prospects for group that tends to be un- and underemployed. Recruitment and retention of troops may benefit too.

Workers have been paid after past shutdowns, albeit late. But there’s no guarantee they will after any future shutdown.

The Trump administration's Office of Management and Budget head talks about the federal debt, infrastructure costs and lifting the hiring freeze.