WASHINGTON (AP) — The swift steps ending a messy and expensive government shutdown set the stage for hundreds of thousands of federal workers to return today, but some say they fear they could find themselves in limbo again in a few more weeks.

Congress sped toward moving to reopen government after Democrats reluctantly voted to temporarily pay for resumed operations on Monday afternoon. The House approved the measure shortly thereafter, sending the spending bill to President Donald Trump, who quickly signed it.

Ali Niaz, a Department of Labor employee who was sent home Monday, took advantage of the partial three-day federal paralysis to tap into shutdown discounts offered by a tavern in the nation’s capital. He asked the bartender if the same deals would be “offered next month when the government shuts down again” — already pointing to when a temporary spending measure ends in early February.

For days, the shutdown effectively cleaved the federal workforce in half as hundreds of thousands of workers were sent home while others declared essential employees stayed on the job.

Felicia Sharp, a lab tech with the Defense Department at Fort Belvoir in northern Virginia, was deemed essential and reported to work Monday. She said the whiplash that occurs when employees are furloughed makes it hard to plan upon returning to work.

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