Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears continues to refuse to tell Donald Trump to end the Trump shutdown, even as Virginia firefighters and first responders work without pay. Virginia is home to over 320,000 federal employees who could also start to miss paychecks this month.

Earle-Sears continues to downplay the impacts of Trump’s attacks on Virginia’s workforce. While Earle-Sears defends Trump’s chaos, Abigail Spanberger continues to call out Trump’s shutdown and fight for Virginia workers.

A reminder: In addition to forcing Virginia federal workers to go without pay, the Trump administration has also threatened to block backpay for these workers once the government reopens.

Read more below:

13NewsNow: ‘Fingers crossed we get paid’ | Federal firefighters on Hampton Roads’ military bases work without pay amid government shutdown

[Alex Littlehales, 10/14/2025] 

• As the federal government shutdown extends from days into weeks, a subset of first responders in the military-heavy region of Hampton Roads is feeling the emotional and financial burden.

• Tim Welsh, the elected president of IAFF Local F-25, spoke to 13News Now and acknowledged the difficulties of the federal government shutdown among the labor union’s roughly 300 members. 

• “When the government shutdown image comes on the TV, and it’s a picture of Washington, D.C., that’s not really the shutdown. It’s affecting the people here in your local communities on those federal facilities,” Welsh said.

• While military members are due to be paid this week, Welsh said federal first responders do not fall within that designation.

• The last pay cycle already reflected reduced funds, according to Welsh, who added the region’s federal firefighters are now actively going into work shifts without pay. 
  
• “You call 911, and you want someone showing up at their best, someone focused on you, your problems, your belongings. You want them at their best. You don’t want them worried about, ‘my mortgage is three days late,’ ‘I don’t know when I’m getting paid,'” he said.