Federal workers feel sense of relief after government shutdown briefly ends

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- On Friday, a group of federal workers rallied outside of the federal courthouse in downtown Raleigh to protest the government shutdown.

In the crowd was Sarah Whitehill and her 15-month-old son. Whitehill's husband is a federal employee.

"It's scary. It's a lot of uncertainty. It's waking up every morning and wondering if tomorrow is going to be the day that my husband is finally going to be able to go back to work and start getting a paycheck again," said Whitehill.

About 40 percent of federal workers across the country stopped getting paid Dec. 22 when the government shutdown, and Whitehill's husband is one of the 8,000 in North Carolina.

As a stay-at-home mom, they rely on her husband's salary to survive.

"We've been living on savings for the last 35 days, and we are privileged enough to have those savings and have those resources. I know there are a lot more people hurting a lot more than we are," said Whitehill.

The same day they rallied, these workers felt a sense of relief after President Trump announced he made a deal with key lawmakers to re-open the government and provide back pay to the federal workers.