BI spoke with federal workers who voted for Trump. Some have come to regret it.

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17-03-2025

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Good morning. The backlash Tesla owners are facing over Elon Musk has crossed the pond. Here in London, a man says he was aghast when he was confronted about his vehicle in a parking lot.In today's big story, BI spoke with 10 federal workers who voted for Trump. Months later, some of them now regret it.
What's on deck
Markets: Rob Arnott thinks the market's tech stock sell-off isn't over.
Tech: BI reviewed a leaked ByteDance document showing TikTok staff being evaluated on their "ByteStyle" and more.
Business: Needy hospitals are trapped in a cycle of corporate plunder, Bethany McLean writes.
But first, some voters feel hoodwinked."I feel betrayed. This is not what I wanted, to let everybody lose their job."
That's what a two-time Trump voter who works for Veterans Affairs told BI. "You're fired. You're fired. You're fired. This is not 'The Apprentice.'"
So far, tens of thousands of workers have already lost their jobs as a result of DOGE's efforts to reshape the federal workforce.
With Elon Musk as de facto leader, the DOGE office initiatives have ranged from dismantling agencies like USAID to slashing budgets and sweeping layoffs — some of which have been reversed by court order.
Just a few months ago, some of the workers impacted by the cuts may have been celebrating Trump's election victory. They voted for a better economy, lower prices, or more stringent border controls.
What they didn't expect was an existential threat to their careers.
BI spoke to current and former federal workers who voted for Trump — and some have come to regret it.
"If I knew I was going to lose my job because Trump became president, no, I would not vote for him," one worker said.
Betrayal. Anger. Regret. You can read what all the workers told BI here.
For federal workers hoping to now pivot to the private sector, things might be tricky.
Lackluster corporate hiring, a shrinking middle-management job market, and pullbacks by universities are making the route to employment beyond federal agencies trickier to navigate, BI's Tim Paradis writes.
Federal workers also face a unique hurdle. Recruiters and career coaches told BI that many federal workers have the know-how to succeed in private industry, yet they might struggle to make that clear.
Adopting a key new skill might help them: translation.
1. Rob Arnott says the sell-off in tech stocks isn't over. "We're seeing the unwinding of a bubble," Arnott, the founder of Research Affiliates, told BI. He compared the current market to the peak of the dot-com bubble in 2000 and warned that the Magnificent Seven stocks are set to slide further.
2. Why China looks investible again. Just a year ago, investors fled the country in droves as they lost faith in its post-pandemic economy, with the CSI 300 dropping over 45%. Now, the country's stocks are rallying, thanks to a pro-tech shift from Beijing — and analysts are paying attention.
3. Follow these leaders for sharp insights on recessions. Leading economists are bracing for a recession, although there's been no official call yet. BI compiled a list of the best commentators on recessions, and the warning signs they're watching.
1. Amazon's DeepSeek scramble. When DeepSeek debuted in January, customer demand was so high Amazon rushed to add the AI to its development tool Bedrock. Now, Amazon wants to promote its products as an alternative to DeepSeek and is telling employees to point out its privacy and security issues, according to internal guidelines seen by BI.
2. Meet the Palantir Mafia. The software company's alumni have collectively raised more than $6 billion for their own startups, which include the social-gathering app Partiful and the defense-tech company Anduril. See BI's list of 30 Palantir alums who struck out on their own.
3. How TikTok scores employees. It's performance review season for TikTok employees, and BI viewed a rubric to see how they're scored. Workers are measured on Output, Leadership Principles, and ByteStyles — i.e. a set of workplace values. If an employee receives a low rating, though, they could end up on a PIP.
1. How wealthy investors keep bankrupting needy hospitals. As Steward Health Care closed hospitals and cut corners on care, its top officers got richer, and the profits kept flowing to its private-equity owner Cerberus. Now, its bankruptcy reveals a deeper flaw in America's healthcare infrastructure: Facilities that have been plundered can only be sold to others who are likely to continue the plundering, Bethany McLean writes.
2. Older Americans on the shifting job market. Some are taking blue- collar jobs, while others are navigating unemployment. Many told BI that ageism, technology changes, and economic shifts have affected their retirement plans.
3. The ghosted generation. College app rejections. No-show dates. Job apps sent into the void. No one has been more rejected in both their personal and professional lives than Gen Z, writes Delia Cai. It's led young people to adopt a blasé attitude in order to protect themselves — and it could turn them into a generation of incredibly risk-averse adults.
A veteran Tesla engineering manager has joined DOGE, and he's set to attend a NASA layoffs meeting.
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It's St. Patrick's Day. Don't forget to wear green.
The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York (on parental leave). Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.
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