For Bush Veterans, DC Jobs Are Scarce

Former administration officials find bad economy, overwhelmed job market

By Clay Dillow, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 30, 2009 9:15 AM CDT

Copied

For Bush Veterans, DC Jobs Are Scarce — This Tuesday, July 3, 2007 picture shows the skyline of Washington, D.C., including the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Former Bush administration staffers are feeling the economic pinch as acutely as other victims of the sagging economy, Politico reports. GOP job-seekers in Washington face a triple whammy of economic chaos, minority status on Capitol Hill, and an excess of qualified Republicans. “The Washington side is a bit of a black hole because there are so many people with so much experience looking and the economy’s so tight,” said one 14-year DC veteran.

Even though only about one-fifth of open positions are publicly posted, congressional offices are receiving hundreds of resumes, and former paid staffers are taking volunteer internships just to stay on the Hill. “I planned for the worst, and it was worse than I thought,” one former Agriculture Department official said. "It’s like having a horrible disease," says one job-seeker. "You have good days, and you have bad days."
(More Bush administration stories.)

Report an error