A group of federal workers — who say they were fired or pushed out from their jobs amid President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s slashing of public spending and gutting of the federal government — lifted the lid on the unsettling developments during a live town hall on MSNBC on Thursday.
The former public servants emotionally described to the network’s Stephanie Ruhle and Jacob Soboroff how their lives had been upended by the sudden termination of their jobs which many of them had believed — due to their critical nature — wouldn’t be targeted.
One woman, Alyssa Ellman, who was fired from her role with the Buffalo Veterans Affairs office, said she was then offered the role back (as many fired workers have been) but only on the condition she didn’t talk to the media.
The veteran defied that order, though, to talk on MSNBC, explaining how as a survivor of cancer (which Soboroff said was possibly caused by exposure to toxic burn pits when she was serving in Afghanistan), she had opted to work over living off disability payments because, “I really care about veterans, I love to work, I didn’t want to feel stagnant or stay home” and “wanted to give back” to the system.
“I’m in a really unique position where I don’t really need this job,” she admitted, but said her former coworkers are “afraid to talk” because they “need their jobs.”
Watch the town hall here:
Tamara Maze, who worked at a bipartisan-mandated division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which focused on supporting families with children who have birth defects and developmental disabilities, said: “I truly believed that [...] everyone understood the importance of the work we did.”
Maze shared that after suffering a debilitating injury from a natural gas explosion, she spent a year in the hospital and “fought” to return to her job.
“It was always important to me to serve the people of this country and I think that’s one of the things that’s really upsetting to me is because I truly believe all federal workers that I’ve ever known are in it because we want to serve this country,” she said.
Sam Peterson, a former park guide with the National Park Service, said his firing forced him to move six hours away and take another job. Asked about the upcoming summer travel season, Sam predicted visitors to parks may notice “overflowing trashcans and overflowing restrooms” due to the cuts and that if they don’t, then that situation likely won’t be sustainable.
Keri Murphy, an administrative officer in the Commerce Department’s CHIPS program, said she was confused about being targeted as her work supported semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., something Trump has publicly championed. “That’s why I thought I was safe,” she said.
And Brittany Coleman, a compliance officer, spoke about how drastic staffing cuts have devastated her department’s ability to help families in need.