"Hundreds" of White House staffers said to be planning walkout over Israel policy

By

January 15, 2024

Hundreds of White House staff members said to be planning a walkout this week in protest of President Joe Biden's Middle East policies.

That's according to the Daily Mail, which cited statements put out by an anonymous group known as "Feds United for Peace."

Walkout organizer says that "people feel they have no other option"

One of the group's organizers spoke with AI Monitor and said that Tuesday will be a "Day of Mourning" to mark the 100-day anniversary of Israel's military action in Gaza.

"What you're seeing with this effort is something very unusual, and that is for dissent to be manifested via a physical act," the unnamed figure was quoted as saying.

"It's one thing to write letters from within, but when policy discussions and dissent cables yield no shift in policy — and in some views, a double down on that policy — then people feel they have no other option because they’re not being heard," the organizer added.

News of the planned walkout was greeted with condemnation from House Speaker Mike Johnson in a post on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.

House Oversight Committee will investigate walkout participants

"Any government worker who walks off the job to protest US support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers," Johnson declared.

"Oversight Chairman Comer and I will be working together to ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings against any person who walks out on their job," the speaker added.

Meanwhile, longtime Democratic operative and Clinton campaign advisor James Carville told Politico that the planned walkout is evidence of a generational change among those who work in government.

"There’s this whole, 'You’re not the boss of me' attitude now," Carville explained, adding, "'I might work for you but I have my own views.'"

Members of anti-Israel mob threw objects over White House fence

News of the planned walkout comes days after an irate mob of anti-Israel protesters assembled outside of the White House and threw objects over a crowd control fence.