With cuts looming, Park Service closes Ben Franklin print shop, Jefferson’s Declaration House

As federal employees in Philadelphia await President Trump’s first budget -- and the massive cuts hinted at in leaks -- workers at some agencies say they’re already feeling the squeeze.

The union that represents the employees at Independence National Historical Park says the president’s hiring freeze on most federal jobs has forced the closure of several historic buildings and exhibits across the park.

David Fitzpatrick, the president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2058, said the freeze was responsible for the shuttering of seven attractions, including Declaration House, where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence; exhibits at the site of Ben Franklin’s home and print shop; and the home of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the Polish military leader who served as a brigadier general in the Revolutionary War.