Nearly a month into the US government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are still on furlough. Their paychecks are on hold, and many are now looking for new ways to make ends meet. Among them is Isaac Stein, a Washington, DC-based attorney working for the Internal Revenue Service. Stein normally spends his days drafting complex retirement plan regulations. But this October, his work looks and smells of mustard and sauerkraut.

Furloughed IRS lawyer turns hot dog vendor 

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, it’s hard to miss Stein in the crowd. He could be seen wearing a neat business suit and tie, standing at the corner of a busy DC street, serving hot dogs from a cart he calls “Shysters Dogs,” a sarcastic nod to the slang term for unscrupulous lawyers. Its tagline: “the only honest ripoff in DC.”

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While the story may sound like a heartbreaking ordeal, for Stein, it’s also a bit of a childhood dream. While other kids were chasing basketballs in school gyms, Stein says he loved running the concession stand. “All the other boys were interested in the game,” he recalled in a conversation with Reuters. “I was way more interested in selling chips and soda.”

But here comes the actual sad part. Stein got his permits just before the shutdown and was furloughed right after. “I got all the paperwork done in late September, and then I was furloughed on October 8,” he told Reuters. Now, he spends his days greeting locals, joking with customers, and serving around 50 hot dogs a day. His menu is simple but full of personality, with items like the “Correct Hot Dog” and the “Hot Dog with the Wrong Toppings,” which costs an extra dollar.

“I’m trying to incentivise people to do what I think is right — mustard and sauerkraut,” he quipped. “If someone wants ketchup or mayo, that’s fine. But I reserve the right to charge a penalty.”

“I’m trying to give people my idea of genteel old Washington on the street,” he explained. “In this city, clothes mean status. So it’s a bit subversive to be in a full suit selling hot dogs.”

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Stein spent weeks going back and forth on  DC’s maze of health, fire, and consumer protection regulations, plus vehicle registration and sidewalk permits. “I read 150 pages of regulations myself,” he said, with the kind of satisfaction only a tax lawyer could express. “Everything about this stand was done by the book.” The investment, he admits, was “five figures,” but it’s one he doesn’t regret.  When the shutdown eventually ends, Stein says he’ll happily return to his IRS job.

Trump’s shutdown drags into November

More than 700,000 federal employees furloughed during the ongoing 31-day partial government shutdown have reportedly been told their unpaid leave will continue for another month, according to Federal News Network.

Agencies, including the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and Homeland Security, along with NASA and the General Services Administration (GSA), have started notifying staff that the furlough period is being extended through late November.

The Commerce Department’s letter, sent out this week, read: “Because your services are no longer needed for orderly suspension of operations and you are not engaged in one of the excepted functions, you are being placed in furlough status effective Oct. 31, 2025. This furlough… is not expected to exceed 30 days.” 

Around 670,000 furloughed federal workers are now sitting at home without pay.  Last Friday,  the Trump administration slashed funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as food stamps. The program supports 42 million Americans, the Guardian reported. This week, two dozen states sued the Trump administration, arguing that cutting off SNAP funds violates federal law.

The shutdown began on October 1, after Democrats refused to back funding bills unless the White House agreed to extend Obamacare subsidies that help 22 million Americans pay for health insurance.