After just one week under Donald Trump’s leadership, some federal workers say they are already “done” with his second presidency.
In his first week back in the White House, the president signed a wide range of executive orders, including some that directly impact federal workers.
He imposed a federal hiring freeze, required employees to return to work in person, and ended “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) programs, which he described as demonstrating “public waste and shameful discrimination.”
The swift changes have some federal workers considering quitting, according to Politico. A Washington-based employment lawyer who represents federal workers told the outlet that his firm had received a surge of calls in the wake of Trump’s stack of executive orders.
An Environmental Protection Agency staffer told the outlet: “Trump version 1.0 was bad. I’m already done with version 2.0.”
The Office of Personnel Management sent out a memo this week warning federal employees against trying to “disguise [DEI] programs by using coded or imprecise language.” The memo stated that failing to report this information within 10 days ”may result in adverse consequences.”
Others in need of a paycheck say they are “terrified” about leaving their current jobs.
“I would love to leave, but I don’t know where I’d go, and I am terrified of not being able to pay rent and not having healthcare,” one State Department staffer told the outlet.
Others still are waiting to see how the orders shape up before making any career changes.
“Most of us are watching cautiously and letting the dust settle,” an employee at the U.S. Agency for International Development told the outlet. “We know that there is a range of possible outcomes, and some people are panicking, but most are taking a wait-and-see approach.”
The clock is ticking.
To add insult to injury, a memo from the Office of Personnel Management Monday required all agencies to identify recent hires and “promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency.” Employees who have been in their posts for less than a year can be terminated without “triggering” appeals from the Merit Systems Protection Board, which protects federal employees.
Some employees are exploring the option of joining the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents over 800,000 workers. Membership already skyrocketed in the weeks before Trump was sworn in, according to the outlet.
A spokesperson told the outlet it “will be tracking how agencies implement the orders and will be prepared to file grievances if our contracts are violated.”
Perhaps a barrage of resignations is part of the new administration’s plan. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, as anticipated co-heads of the Department of Government Efficiency, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that an in-person work mandate would result in resignations. Now only Musk leads DOGE.
“Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome: If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home,” the pair wrote.
Maryland Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey predicted where Trump’s orders targeting federal workers were heading. He told the New York Times this week: “I think we know where it looks like he’s trying to go, which is to force people to quit. They’re going to try and force a lot of federal employees out of work, and then replace them with political loyalists.”
