U.S. Rep. Donald S. Beyer, Jr., whose 8th District of Northern Virginia includes the City of Falls Church, published a Letter to the Editor in the Dec. 31 New York Times challenging President Trump to end the federal government shutdown.

In the letter, he wrote, “There is near certainty that all federal workers will receive their back pay, as they have in every other recent government shutdown. A bipartisan bill in the House will receive immediate action when Speaker Nancy Pelosi takes control in a few days, and the Senate has already unanimously passed such a bill and would do so again in the new year. President Trump seems delighted to continue his war on federal employees at any cost, not only using them as a pawn in his ill-advised fight for a wall, but also saying he will stiff them on their scheduled pay raise. Despite the occupant of the White House, federal workers should rest assured that those of us who represent them — a broad and bipartisan swath of members of Congress — have their backs and will make sure the stoppage in pay is rectified.”