The OP said the government set all this up under the assumption it was kosher and only found out after the fact that it wasn’t.
Shame you lost the job. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, getting paid just for showing up. I guarantee there will not be many more, if any, jobs like it.
You know what’s worse? Sitting there working your ass off and being paid minimally for your efforts. I know which one I’d prefer.
Edit:
I worked for the government doing things I’m not allowed to talk about. Makes you sound like a ninja… if ninjas made sound, of course.
I had a job like this once. I was immediately reprimanded when I tried to create challenges/taskforces. I was reprimanded whenever I asked if I could do anything for anybody, learn something new, etc.
I ended up walking away during a lunch hour. Never looked back.
Later I learned that my particular function was “window dressing”, so to speak. I wasn’t supposed to have any particular function except sit there and make my immediate boss “look important”.
BTW, this was my very last office job. After I walked off I swore to myself to never, ever take another office job again. At least in retail you’ve got the crazy cast of customers