'Betrayed' by Trump (and Musk's) mass layoffs
Happy Presidents’ Day! It’s Rebecca Morin, senior national news reporter at Paste BN. 🙋♀️ Raise your hand if you stayed up to watch the SNL 50th anniversary episode. Reminder: We’re testing a new On Politics send time. Got thoughts on it? Share your feedback here.
Federal workers say Trump mass firings upended their lives
President Donald Trump, and his close ally billionaire Elon Musk, are uprooting “waste, fraud, and abuse” by cutting the federal workforce with mass layoffs, the White House said. But federal workers who were fired last week were left shocked, angry and distraught by the terminations as they scrambled to figure out how they are going to pay for bills and take care of their families after they're unemployed, according to interviews with several federal workers fired from the departments of Education, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture and Transportation. Elena Moseyko, a data scientist until last week at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said “mentally it’s very draining” to be fired and have to figure out how to apply for unemployment benefits. Read more.
- Which agencies have been hit by federal layoffs?
- Trump: If it saves the country, it's not illegal
- Elon Musk eyes the Pentagon, fueling concerns about conflicts of interest
Several federal employees, most of them recent hires, are also incensed that their performance is also coming under question. Termination letters being sent to fired federal employees targeted their “performance” on the job. Gavan Harmon, a fired U.S. Forest Service worker who received a termination letter with the performance language, said his supervisor told him he wasn't getting fired for doing a bad job. “He was very explicit on the call, stating that my termination was not performance-based… it was all being really forced upon them from higher-ups.” Read more.
- National Park Service ranger in Iowa among the thousands fired Friday: 'Is this really happening?'
The mass layoffs aren’t over, by any stretch. Less than a month after a midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter killed 67 people, about 400 recently hired or promoted support staff employees at the Federal Aviation Administration were fired over the weekend. Read more.
- U.S. nuclear weapons agency hit by layoffs — and reversal of some cuts — after DOGE exemption denied
Trump's victory lap
A politics pit-stop
- Emboldened by Trump support, Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will 'finish the job' on Iran
- Vivek Ramaswamy to launch run for Ohio governor on Feb. 24
- New blueprint emerges to fight extremism that hits close to home
- Canadian sports fans boo national anthem before NBA, NHL games over tariffs
- 12 fun facts about Presidents of the United States of America
Biden appointed 235 federal judges, shaping battle on Trump agenda
Democrats may no longer have control of the White House, and they don’t have control of the Senate. But they’re hoping that the courts will help thwart Donald Trump’s efforts to significantly downsize and reshape the federal government in ways that are testing his legal authority to do so. Joe Biden as president put more judges on the federal bench than any recent president in a single term. Read more.
Got a burning question, or comment, for On Politics? You can submit them here or send me an email at rdmorin@usatoday.com.