According to the Associated Press, the White House has been hit hard by the government shutdown, with just 15 employees available to handle the residential work. What’s worse, the menu has been shortened: “In the West Wing, only a scaled-back menu is available at the White House mess.”
Overall, there are still 450 “advisers, assistants, number-crunchers, butlers, chefs and landscapers,” down from the massive 1,701 on staff before the shutdown. Josh Earnest, deputy press secretary, lamented, “The most evident impact is the lack of voices. There aren’t a bunch of people yammering on the phone.”
