Inside the Trump Purge: Federal Workers Tell Their Stories

I think I just got deactivated on my. government. computer I can try one more time it just. kicked me out of teams let's see if I. can open my. Outlook yep I no longer have. access. okay yeah I don't even I don't even know. yeah like I'm looking at my office I. have gotten pictures of me and my. buddies and Iraq and Afghanistan I have.

like a Marine Corps flag behind me. there's like a pit in my. stomach I'm a know combat vet going to. work at the VA like I was like you know. no one's really coming after us and then. like I thought the VA would be fine now. like I'm totally fired now so like I'm. just if I'm getting fired like who's. next you know like I I thought I'd be. the safest and I was one of the first to. go.

from The New York Times I'm Michael. babbaro this is the. daily either the Deep State destroys. America or we destroy the Deep State. that's the way it's got to be on the. campaign Trail Donald Trump and his. allies left little doubt that if they. returned to power they would try to make. working for the federal government as. miserable and experienc as possible we. want the bureaucrats to be traumatically. affected when they wake up in the.

morning we want them to not want to go. to work because they are increasingly. viewed as the villains by treating. career bureaucrats as the enemy and by. driving them out through layoffs buyouts. and agency closures the Departments and. agencies that have been weaponized will. be completely overhauled so that. faceless bureaucrats will never again be. able to Target and persecute. conservatives today president Trump. today doubling down on his move to.

dramatically and rapidly shrink the. federal Workforce thousands of employees. were fired yesterday across numerous. agencies and this is just the start with. other workers being warned that large. workplace cuts are coming now that. Trump's plan has become a reality we. asked dozens of federal workers to. explain in their own words what it's. been like to actually live through it. [Music].

it's Wednesday February. [Music]. 19th first off can you tell me how you'd. like to be identified yeah if I could. just be anonymous that would be best I. think I would prefer to be anonymous. yeah and why do you want to be anonymous. I'm afraid that I will be targeted I'm.

concerned that I would just be putting a. Target on my back fear of retaliation by. the top of my chain of command by the. White. House I work at the Environmental. Protection Agency I work within the. department of interior I work for USA. for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Health and Human Services for the US. Army Corps of. Engineers I work to keep our ports and. waterways safe and delivering for the.

public a lot of the work that I did was. focused on improving diagnosis and. treatment services for children I love. my job public service is important to me. I get to see every day the positive. impacts that my job and my agency have. on my community my mom worked for the. county and my dad worked for the state. you progress to working for the. government because you're a citizen and. that's the best thing that you can do. and so that's why I went there it was.

probably my dream. job I've been with my department for 15. years 17 years 2 and a half years I have. worked as a federal employee for over 23. years this is the first Administration. transition that I've ever been so. uncertain about what I'm being asked to. do having worked for the last Trump.

Administration I didn't really. anticipate anything this severe and we. all were a little caught off. guard today I will sign a series of. historic executive orders with these. actions we will begin the complete. restoration of America and the. revolution of common sense it's all. about common sense uh in light of the. Damage Done by the Biden.

administration's Dei and woke policies. uh what this presidential memorandum. orders is elevating competence instead. of uh the Dei policies that were pursued. by the Biden. Administration the day after the. inauguration our director came on and. started going through some of these. executive orders the first one mentioned. was the cease and desist of all deia. activities diversity Equity inclusion. and exess ability we started getting.

emails first there was the one asking us. to report any employees who are. disguising the fact that they're doing. Dei work the email that we got basically. said if you did report you would not. face any adverse consequences but if you. didn't report you could face adverse. consequences and we all were baffled. that they thought first of all that we. even had anyone hiding but second that. we were just going to go report people. and snitch on people really to receive.

an email in the federal government. essentially advocating for turning in. your colleagues seems so. orwellian and McCarthyism like it was. shocking we were told to take our. pronouns down people are afraid to give. a shout out about Black History Month or. women's history month and the thought is. kind of like we should avoid saying. things like disadvantaged communities or. environmental justice things like.

gender-based violence or women's. empowerment even happy Lunar New Year. you know it was like oh gosh should we. not even be saying that that afternoon. in fact several colleagues that had been. working on deia initiatives were fired. sent home one of them I had only been. talking to about 2 hours before he was. sent home that was very chilling a sense. of paranoia arose I remember we kind of. all said what's coming next.

fast forward I don't know a couple. days and I got the fork in the road. email now to another big move by. President Trump's Administration in an. effort to shrink the government millions. of federal workers are being offered. buyouts with a warning that the jobs. could be cut if the buyouts aren't taken. in an email with the subject line fork. in the road those interested in the. buyout told to reply with one word. resign came on January 28th it came at.

different time so we all got it in the. evening mine came about 1: p.m. everybody first thought it was like a. fishing email I read it on my work cell. phone and I called out to my fiance just. being like fork in the road are you. kidding me are you kidding me the eail. makes it basically sound like if you. don't take this opt out you could. potentially lose your job in the future. when this email came it felt like you. know the horror film The call is coming.

from inside the house like it's my own. leadership that is gunning for me then a. few days later we received a frequently. asked questions email regarding the fork. in the road email that email saying you. have this great opportunity you should. take it you work in a low productivity. federal job and you should go to a high. productivity private sector job I keep. thinking and I'll try and say this.

without. crying a couple years ago I was working. for the federal government about 15. hours a day I did that because I. believed in the work and so I can't. describe how hurtful it is to receive an. email saying that you should go from a. less productive public space to go to a. more productive private space and work. there it was so hurtful to receive that. email especially coming from a.

government email address and just the. presumption that I'm going to put this. in front of you and you're going to jump. at it it insults the fact that we are. there because we want to be there we. feel strongly about the mission of the. agency I definitely would find it to be. quite an injury to my pride to let. myself be browbeaten into quitting if. anything it cemented my sense of resolve. to stay in the job that I love that. provid for my family that improves my.

[Music]. community the future of usaid that's the. US agency for International Development. is uncertain over the weekend Elon Musk. threatened to quote unquote eliminate. the main US agency handling foreign. assistance I was at an off-site meeting. about a new project that we had starting. up those of us who work for us a who. were in that were very distracted.

because we were getting emails about the. executive orders and the Rumor Mill was. starting at 2:00 Marco Rubio had sent. out the stop work order my colleague. said I'm really sorry but we have to end. this meeting immediately and then I and. the other contractor on our team were. sent. home I had just a sense of dread I was. like this is not going to end. well and then on Tuesday around noon.

about 400 of us just one by one were. laid. off a group of us that were all on the. same team that live in the DC area. decided we would all turn in our laptops. and badges and everything at the same. time so that we could see each other and. so we met around 11:00 and then we. walked over to the USA building the. remaining people on our team came down. to get us checked in cuz since we didn't. have badges anymore we couldn't enter. the building and so we all got guest.

Badges and we all went up to the. floor when I got there on Wednesday. morning all of the beautiful photographs. from USA's work all over the world you. know photographs of like colleagues that. we worked with or clinics that we had. been working in all of it was gone it's. like they had pulled down the frames. pulled out the photographs and put the. frames back up on the wall so you were. walking down and seeing just like a. hallway of empty frames which was very.

bizarre after we said goodbye to our. colleagues we all went downstairs and. the security guards who are the first. people we see when we get there in the. morning and the last people we see when. we leave were so kind to us and said you. know we just we can't believe this is. happening and we hope we get to see you. again just really really kindness and. honestly that's when I just really broke. down crying I mean I had been upset. before but but just to see that they.

were so concerned about us was really. touching and then we all said. goodbye watching The Dominoes fall with. usaid what happens when Elon Musk and. his buddies turn their attention to us. once my friends of friends started. saying yeah I'm at us a we have no idea. like how we're going to get our medicine. next week cuz our health insurance is. being cut off maybe that was when it.

started to sink in like oh this could be. coming for me you know especially in the. wake of usaid being. dismantled it sort of feels like we're. next on The Chopping. [Music]. Block we'll be right back.

I have been concerned about my job. because I was a probationary employee. which just means that I was a newer hire. and being a probational employee I was. like I know that it's you know I'm at a. higher risk of losing my job but there's. nothing I can do about it I'm going to. keep coming to work every single. day essentially a request came to put. together a list of employees in their.

probationary period my supervisor was. called in on a very quick turn like they. had like one hour where she and all the. other they call the teen directors all. of them come in together and now they. have a list of everybody who is a. probational employee and they have to. write a justification to make the. decision do you want to retain this. person or no and then you have to write. a justification for why you want to keep. them and they had 200 characters to. write this jusic. of and then on our team it became really.

apparent that Doge was was on the scene. we learned about people having. interviews with with folks that were not. government employees regardless of. whether they were probation or not I was. nervous because I didn't know exactly. what to expect but I knew I was being. evaluated for fit by this person who. likely knows very little about how. government.

functions I entered the meeting video on. and I saw you know this young man one of. the Doge. Lads and it felt like I was going to a. job interview with somebody I didn't. like and I would never work there like. it just made me sick to my stomach and. all that's going through my mind is like. here I am I'm going to be judged by. somebody that's not quite half my age. in a 15minute call.

like 15 minutes and the hiring process. took almost six months for me so you. know I went through a lot to get the job. but seemed like I didn't have to go. through much to lose. [Music]. it probationary employees do have rights. they cannot be fired without cause and I. know I'm not a low performer so I.

started tracking every bit of work I. did the stress is starting to build like. jobs really not secure at this point. it's like contraction in my stomach and. chest I started to like not be able to. eat or sleep it kind of raised that. anxiety for me because I knew what my. career is about to be screwed over. basically. [Music].

I'm going to be completely honest like. I'm a know combat vet going to work at. the VA like I was like you know no one's. really coming after us and then like you. know my my wife is a federal employee. too at one of the agencies that he does. not like but I I thought I would be safe. so long as I just got in before you know. there was any for the. [Music]. inauguration are you okay with me using. your name yeah I am there's no there's.

no turning back now like I really don't. care my name Andrew Lennox 35 years old. what I work for is the Veterans Health. Administration our job is to provide. medical service to either veterans or. like family members of veterans and I. love it I love everything about it like. I knew I belonged here my first day when. I walked through the doors and like. there was a Vietnam vet that like saw. Marine keychain slapped my back called.

me a Jarhead it's a place where you fit. you know once you leave the military you. do kind of feel like you're alone but. then once you're here everybody's your. [Music]. family and then I was at home and um. this new nerdy thing I've gotten into is. I make scale model replicas of military. figures from the global war on terrorism. I don't know a buddy at my old job told. me it was fun and he gave me a little. Marine mortar set for a six-pack of beer.

and so I started making those in my. evenings for fun since it's cold out in. Michigan but I was painting a tiny. Afghan carpet store and my wife said her. agency is getting a bunch of weird. emails I go to grab my work phone and I. because it's I knew it died and I plug. it in I was like well let's see if I got. fired and I was joking and then when it. turned on I opened my email and I said I. got.

[Music]. fired I was working for the Department. of energy and the 13th day before. Valentine's Day i' had been following. the news all day and reading that. agencies were planning to let folks go. and I was very nervous so I had my work. phone on me after I signed off for the. day and I had been checking my email. probably every 10 minutes and I ended up. falling asleep on the couch because I. just couldn't I wasn't ready for bed I. wasn't ready I was.

stressed so I heard my workstation sort. of alarm I had forgotten to turn off my. speakers which sounds kind of funny but. if I don't turn off my speakers I can. hear my laptop make an alarm in the. other room so I hear a message come in. it wakes me up and I try to open up my. email and it's not loading so then I try. to sign it into my laptop it did not. work and so I tried again did not work I. shut down and restarted it would not.

work I was like had an extremely tight. chest I was so shocked at the way it was. playing out I work as a probationary. employee within the forest service at. 3:55 I got the call from my boss that he. got a call at. 3:45 that he has to let me go I texted. my mom I was like I'm being fired um she. immediately called me and I was balling. my eyes out I was an enforcement.

attorney at the Consumer Financial. Protection Bureau and I think it was. 7:06 p.m. is when I got the. email saying that I had been. fired I received an email telling me. that I was terminated and then I. received another one telling me I was. terminated again and then I got an email. saying all of those terminations were. rescinded. and then I got two more emails telling.

me that I was terminated again and so I. was fired I just got home got in my. apartment 10 minutes later I got a. notification that was just a copy and. paste email that it looked like where my. name and position was filled in citing. my performance as the reason for. firing they said due to my poor. performance and then I immediately. texted you know my direct supervisor had.

no idea this was. happening I reached out to my supervisor. just let her know said hey I just got an. EMA from from the director uh saying. that I was terminated and she comes back. and says I'm so sorry and then she's. like I got the same. one and so she had been terminated as. well but then this morning she got up. and is looking at her own email and. there's an email from our director. saying uh I got some new information. your name should not have been on that. list uh so you can ignore the. termination email um you are not fired.

people need to know what's actually. happening it's just it's just. chaos it was just the fact that know we. think you're easier to fire so we're. going to go ahead and do it you know it. felt like punitive and inhumane if I may. it it's just you know you feel feel. gutted like it. it our our president our Administration. right now does not care they they could.

care less I feel kind of betrayed by the. whole thing. because there are processes and. procedures for doing everything and. they're and they're not being followed. anymore they're. cowards that's it's literally it they're. cowards they sent it in an. email and nobody in this building nobody. in this building nobody in our. headquarters throughout the entire. region will say that to me they're going. to send it through an email.

and like it's yeah they're they're like. they're. [Music]. cowards my sense when terms like. draining the swamp were being thrown. around before was that it was more. directed at politicians and lobbyists. and not like the actual work of the. federal. government I think I'd like to be really. clear here and say that I would agree.

with the statement that there can. sometimes be inefficiency in federal. government processes I don't think that. that means that the way this. Administration is going about making. changes is the way to do it I don't. think Mass reductions in force I don't. think fear and chaos and many other. things that have been done by this. Administration is the way to improve. inefficiency I don't want to reveal my. name or even my department but I've been.

a federal employee for a decent amount. of years and I voted for Trump in 2016. and. 2020 and 2024 and happy to do it I don't. regret any of my votes that being said. you know while I think the overall. policy and objective of shrinking the. federal government is good I certainly. am critical of the process in which some. of it has been happening frankly I think.

the dismissals have been taking place. really cruel you I think it could be. handled better but I think that's more. Elon than Trump but Trump's the. president and maybe he needs to slow. Elon down I don't. [Music]. know I mean like I've I've had people. have already like been asking we send me. your resume you know all I don't I don't.

care I don't care I don't want another. job I want people to know about what's. happening here if you know a week from. now you've been kicked out of the. systems and things are still running. someone might say well that just proves. like this was bloat we don't need your. job there are too many people what do. you say to that argument that someone. who agrees with Elon Musk agrees with. President Donald Trump and says a job. like yours truly isn't needed. 100% this place can run without me I'm.

not the Lynch pin that holds us together. you know they they can work without me. we wouldn't be an efficient organization. if we didn't have those like backup. plans but it's one of those things where. like it's going to get harder for. everybody else here you're going to. squeeze every little last ounce of. energy and experience out of them and. they're going to. leave they're going to make life so. miserable that they will drive everybody. out of these. institutions they're going to break. something they can't fix and it's going. to have Ripple effects for.

[Music]. Generations so far of the 2 million. federal workers offered a buyout by the. Trump Administration an estimated. 75,000 have accepted the offer in. addition the White House has ordered. federal agencies to terminate another2. 200,000 probationary workers of those.

about. 11,000 have already been. fired finally the president has. identified about 9,000 more workers that. he wants to eliminate as he dismantles. their agencies the firings which are. still in their early stages are expected. to continue and to accelerate in the. coming weeks. we'll be right.

back here's what else you need to. another day less than a week after. president Trump spoke by phone with. Russian President Vladimir Putin. diplomats from both countries met in. Saudi Arabia to begin a remarkable reset. in the two countries relationship it was. the latest chapter in a stunning about. face in US policy toward Russia which. has sought over the past few years to.

isolate the country for invading Ukraine. and killing thousands of its civilians I. came away today convinced that they are. willing to begin to engage in a serious. process to determine how and how quickly. and through what mechanism can an end be. brought to this war after the meeting US. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that. Russia had demonstrated what he saw as a. genuine interest in ending its war on. Ukraine and he praised president Trump.

for pursuing normalized relations. between the two countries for three and. a half years while this conflict is. raged or three years while it it's raged. no one else has been able to bring. something together like what we saw. today because Donald Trump is the only. leader in the world that. can today's episode was reported and. produced by Claire tenis Stella tan Anna. Foley and Jessica Chong with help from. Sydney Harper it was edited by Devin. Taylor contains original music by Dan.

Powell Maran Lozano Pat mccusker and. Sophia lman and was engineered by Chris. Wood our theme music is by Jim brunberg. and Ben Lansford of. [Music]. wonderlake that's it for the daily I'm. Michael. babbaro see you tomorrow.