These fired federal employees are considering running for public office

Yahoo

20-05-2025

Tony Ruiz was happy to join Veterans Affairs in February 2024. A disabled veteran himself, Ruiz left the private sector to become a veterans service representative and help people who had served their country get the benefits they deserved.
Despite glowing performance reviews and an "employee of the quarter" award, Ruiz , who lives in Orange County, California, was laid off just days before he had expected to become a permanent employee.
Adrift in the weeks afterward, he came to two realizations, he told USA TODAY: He needed a job, and new people need to run for political office.
'The only way to speak up at this point with everything that's going on ‒ without getting too political here ‒ is to get into power, is to go to some location where there is a Republican and literally running on the platform of 'Hey, I'm one of those federal employees, a veteran, who was cut by the Trump administration.''
Progressive and Democratic groups that help people run for office told USA TODAY former federal employees like Ruiz are contacting them in droves to learn what it would take to run for everything from school board to Congress.
Ruiz said he plans to start with a run for mayor or city council, hoping to connect with people in a moderately conservative area of California who aren't happy with the changes President Donald Trump has made, though he hasn't decided where. He called himself a centrist who leans left.
"Everybody's seen now that we're under attack," Ruiz said. "That's my base; people that are veterans, Latinos, Americans in general who feel under attack.'
In the three days after federal firings began in February, 1,000 people signed up to run for office with Run for Something, said group co-founder Amanda Litman. The organization supports progressive candidates who want to run for local office.
It was a 'huge spike for us,' Litman said, adding that the layoffs could represent a pivot point in Trump's presidency that pushes people to get involved in politics. The group has received tens of thousands of calls and emails about running for office since the 2024 election, she said.
More: The Donald Trump resistance is ready for when Democrats are done grieving
'I suspect many are coming from either employees or (people) wanting to fight back on behalf of federal employees,' Litman said.
On March 25, more than 600 people attended a Run for Something informational call aimed at former federal workers interested in running for office.
Attendees said they were tired of waiting for someone else to get it together. Some said they feel frustrated, disgusted and exhausted, while others said they are hopeful, optimistic and empowered.
As alumni of the group talked about how they decided to run and organized their campaigns, attendees were in the video call's chat section coordinating local meet-ups or opportunities to share resources.
Step one: Figure out their story.
More: Rats, card tables and BYO toilet paper: Inside federal workers' return to office
Litman said federal workers make compelling candidates because many are veterans and have 'a deep understanding of how the system works and a willingness to fight for it in a different way from the inside.'
Also, they can say ''Trump and Elon Musk fired me for wanting to serve the people.' That's a really compelling campaign story,' she said.
Running for public office is a logical next step for public servants, Emerge President A'shanti Gholar told USA TODAY.
Emerge, which focuses on helping women run for office and supporting them after they win, held three trainings in April for former federal workers. Dozens of women across the country attended, and the group plans to hold another training series for fired federal workers in May and June, Gholar said.
She said the training included how to find the right position for which to run.
"They have all of this experience in the federal government, they know how it works, and they can take that to the local level, especially to be able to serve their community," she said. "There's 520,000 elected offices in this country, and the majority of them are at the state and local level, and that's where we really need people stepping up to be during this time."
Mark Leonard, 35, of Fountain Valley, California, who has volunteered on several Democratic campaigns, said he is already in contact with six former public servants around the country who are looking for a way to serve again. He's advising them on deadlines, available resources, how to shape their message for their particular district, and how to get on the ballot.
Leonard said he wants to ease their way into running a campaign, which can be daunting and very different from serving as a nonpartisan government employee.
"I don't want to see people dropping out and giving up. I would like to see people run their races through," he said.
Several federal employees USA TODAY spoke with said they are afraid to talk about their plans until they are fully separated from the government. Others were more open.
Caitie Goddard, 41, is moving home to Michigan after losing her job with the United States Agency for International Development in Washington after less than a year. She had always worked in public education or public service and has occasionally considered running for office.
"I had always thought about what it would mean to run … never knowing what would be an appropriate time. This experience of basically eliminating my position and all others, it's forced a choice," Goddard said.
She wants to explore a run for state office but doesn't know where she'd fit best. Criticism of federal workers coming from the White House and some Americans has her thinking about whether having federal experience is a strength or a weakness if she runs.
She said candidates will have to show that fired federal workers are "not just some random person. It's me, the girl from Royal Oak, Michigan, who has all her friends and family living in the area. It's affecting me and my family and my friends and community. It's not just some random folks without names working on Capitol Hill."
Shernice Mundell, 47, of Edgewood, Maryland, joined the Office of Personnel Management in August 2024 where she helped postal workers with health insurance questions. She was excited to spend her final working decades helping fellow Americans.
Mundell is considering a bid for Congress because she feels let down by her own congressman, Rep. Andy Harris, R-Maryland, who she said hasn't provided resources for the fired federal workers in his district. When she called his office to express concerns about the cuts, the only response she got was an automated message that he supports what the Trump administration is doing.
"I've always wanted to do it, but I never had a reason," Mundell told USA TODAY. "Once I was fired, I said, Well, maybe this is God's way of telling me I should run for something."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fired federal workers look to run for office to keep serving