Washington, January 19: Former United States President George W Bush on Friday turned into a Pizza delivery man for a day as he gave a stack of pizzas to his Secret Service detail, who are working without a paycheck after the partial government shutdown. The 43rd US president while sharing the image on Instagram also made a political statement asking "both sides to put politics aside, come together, and end this shutdown." US Government Shutdown Enters Day 26, Workers Continue Sans Pay.

Bush said in his Instagram and Facebook posts that he and wife Laura "are grateful to our Secret Service personnel and the thousands of federal employees who are working hard for our country without a paycheck". He added: "And we thank our fellow citizens who are supporting them. It's time for leaders on both sides to put politics aside, come together, and end this shutdown." Donald Trump Walks out of Meeting to End US Government Shutdown.

The message from Bush comes after the shutdown, longest in history, as Donald Trump demands 5 billion funding for the proposed southern border wall which has met the harsh reality of a divided government. Some employees are working without being paid, while more than 8,00,000 federal employees have been off work since 22 December.

US Representatives, mostly from Democrat party, have taken to social media to share their stories how their life is going without pay due to the shutdown.

"A woman from NH wrote to me & said the #TrumpShutdown has impacted her & her daughters tremendously. Without the financial support of their father, a government worker, they will soon be unable to buy food, pay bills & buy gas. This is appalling. #EndTheShutdown #ShutdownStories," US Representative Ann McLane Kuster stated.

"Flying to Washington yesterday I met a TSA agent working without pay because of the shutdown. She is a single mother raising a 15-year-old daughter, & her family is struggling to make ends meet without her paycheck. #ShutdownStories, " Brad Schneider, the US Representative from Illinois' 10th Congressional District shared.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 19, 2019 06:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).