Latest news with #ProtectOurProbationaryEmployeesAct
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maryland lawmakers address ‘big lie,' offer support to federal workers at town hall
Hundreds filled the seats of the gymnasium at Howard Community College Tuesday night to hear Maryland lawmakers offer their support and share their efforts to respond to recent actions from the Trump administration. Attendees to the town hall forum at the Kahlert Foundation Complex heard speeches from Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. Sarah Elfreth, whose congressional district includes all of Howard County. The event was part of Ball's latest initiatives to support federal workers who have been impacted by the efforts of President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, to slash the federal workforce. 'Please know that we are here for you. We're here to listen. We're here to understand how we can best support you during these tumultuous times, and we are also here to help you transform this economic tragedy into triumph,' Ball said. Ball has announced expanded resources for the roughly 40,000 to 50,000 federal workers who live in Howard County, and Tuesday, Elfreth introduced the bipartisan Protect Our Probationary Employees Act. Still, some in the audience wondered what specific steps could be taken to fight back against Trump's decisions and to form clear messaging in opposition. Lawmakers said they are working to fight against Trump's actions in Congress and in the courts. They encouraged individuals to organize in their communities and to reach across the aisle. Cheers erupted from the crowd with stomps of approval for some of the speakers, while occasional boos were heard at the mention of DOGE or other actions taken by Trump. It's a 'big lie,' Van Hollen said, that probationary federal employees were fired due to a lack of performance. Rather, the workforce cuts were done to secure enough funding for tax cuts to billionaires, Alsobrooks said. The White House has said federal workers are lazy or unqualified, but, 'if you want to know unqualified, you should sit with me and sit with Senator Van Hollen' when in hearings to confirm Trump's nominations to his cabinet, Alsobrooks said. Aside from concerns about impacted federal workers, audience members asked questions about how lawmakers can address cuts to the Department of Education, the pause on income-driven student loan repayment, and how lawmakers can ensure accountability for the Trump administration. 'Thank you for showing up. Thank you for digging deep,' Elfreth said. 'These are scary times, these are anxious times, these are unprecedented times, but apathy is not an option in these times. So thank you.' This story will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Kiersten Hacker at khacker@ or @KierstenHacker on X.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Baumgartner backs bipartisan bill to support fired federal workers
Mar. 11—WASHINGTON — Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, gave a bipartisan boost on Tuesday to a bill that aims to help federal workers who have lost their jobs as part of the mass firing led by Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service. The Protect Our Probationary Employees Act is cosponsored by dozens of House lawmakers, but so far only two Republicans: Baumgartner and his fellow freshman, Rep. Jeff Hurd of Colorado. Its lead sponsor is another first-term lawmaker, Democratic Rep. Sarah Elfreth of Maryland. The bill would clarify regulations that apply to a federal worker's probationary period — the first year on the job, or in some cases two years — so that fired probationary employees could keep the seniority they had accumulated if they are rehired. In a brief interview at the Capitol, Baumgartner said his support for the bill shouldn't be construed as criticism of President Donald Trump or his administration's effort to rapidly downsize the federal workforce. "There are some workers who were fired by mistake, and those workers shouldn't lose their accrued probationary status," he said. "I think it's just a good, common-sense bill." "We want good people spinning turbines and guarding our nuclear stockpiles," Baumgartner said, referring to the seemingly arbitrary termination of hundreds of workers at the Bonneville Power Administration, which runs hydroelectric dams in the Northwest, and the National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages U.S. nuclear weapons. Trump has empowered Musk, a billionaire adviser who has ignored government ethics rules and continues to run multiple companies with billions in federal contracts, to fire workers without specific reasons through an entity dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency. The group, largely composed of software engineers and other business associates of Musk, isn't technically a department — something only Congress can create — and has taken over the offices and the acronym of a small agency formerly called the U.S. Digital Service, which was also referred to as USDS. Pointing to a story published by Politico on Tuesday, Baumgartner emphasized that his backing of the bill is not "some specific pushback against Elon Musk." "That's not how the bill is intended," he said. "It's just a bill that says we need good federal employees, and if they're mistakenly fired, let's just have common sense." Even Trump, Baumgartner pointed out, has come to endorse a more targeted approach to cutting the government workforce, whose salaries account for about 5% of federal spending, according to the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute. In a social media post on March 6, the president called Musk's DOGE project "an incredible success" and said he had directed his cabinet secretaries to continue the staff cuts. At the Department of Veterans Affairs, for instance, Musk led the termination of about 2,500 probationary employees, including more than a dozen at Spokane's Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center. Then, on March 4, VA Secretary Doug Collins directed his department to lay off approximately 70,000 to 80,000 more employees within six months. "As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. "We say the 'scalpel' rather than the 'hatchet.' The combination of them, Elon, DOGE, and other great people will be able to do things at a historic level." Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Baumgartner backs bipartisan bill to support fired federal workers
Mar. 11—WASHINGTON — Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, gave a bipartisan boost on Tuesday to a bill that aims to help federal workers who have lost their jobs as part of the mass firing led by Elon Musk's U.S. DOGE Service. The Protect Our Probationary Employees Act is cosponsored by dozens of House lawmakers, but so far only two Republicans: Baumgartner and his fellow freshman, Rep. Jeff Hurd of Colorado. Its lead sponsor is another first-term lawmaker, Democratic Rep. Sarah Elfreth of Maryland. The bill would clarify regulations that apply to a federal worker's probationary period — the first year on the job, or in some cases two years — so that fired probationary employees could keep the seniority they had accumulated if they are rehired. In a brief interview at the Capitol, Baumgartner said his support for the bill shouldn't be construed as criticism of President Donald Trump or his administration's effort to rapidly downsize the federal workforce. "There are some workers who were fired by mistake, and those workers shouldn't lose their accrued probationary status," he said. "I think it's just a good, common-sense bill." "We want good people spinning turbines and guarding our nuclear stockpiles," Baumgartner said, referring to the seemingly arbitrary termination of hundreds of workers at the Bonneville Power Administration, which runs hydroelectric dams in the Northwest, and the National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages U.S. nuclear weapons. Trump has empowered Musk, a billionaire adviser who has ignored government ethics rules and continues to run multiple companies with billions in federal contracts, to fire workers without specific reasons through an entity dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency. The group, largely composed of software engineers and other business associates of Musk, isn't technically a department — something only Congress can create — and has taken over the offices and the acronym of a small agency formerly called the U.S. Digital Service, which was also referred to as USDS. Pointing to a story published by Politico on Tuesday, Baumgartner emphasized that his backing of the bill is not "some specific pushback against Elon Musk." "That's not how the bill is intended," he said. "It's just a bill that says we need good federal employees, and if they're mistakenly fired, let's just have common sense." Even Trump, Baumgartner pointed out, has come to endorse a more targeted approach to cutting the government workforce, whose salaries account for about 5% of federal spending, according to the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute. In a social media post on March 6, the president called Musk's DOGE project "an incredible success" and said he had directed his cabinet secretaries to continue the staff cuts. At the Department of Veterans Affairs, for instance, Musk led the termination of about 2,500 probationary employees, including more than a dozen at Spokane's Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center. Then, on March 4, VA Secretary Doug Collins directed his department to lay off approximately 70,000 to 80,000 more employees within six months. "As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. "We say the 'scalpel' rather than the 'hatchet.' The combination of them, Elon, DOGE, and other great people will be able to do things at a historic level." Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
Politico
11-03-2025
- Business
- Politico
Republicans join bill to protect workers after DOGE firings
A new bill to address the mass firings of probationary federal workers by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is picking up bipartisan support. First-term Republican Reps. Michael Baumgartner of Washington and Jeff Hurd of Colorado have signed onto legislation that would ensure that recently terminated probationary workers could reclaim the seniority they amassed in their previous positions if later rehired by the government. Their support for the Protect Our Probationary Employees Act — to be formally introduced Tuesday by fellow first term Rep. Sarah Elfreth, Maryland Democrat — marks the latest response from Republicans who are increasingly feeling political pressure to offer some response to DOGE's actions. The DOGE backlash has gotten so difficult for many members back home that the chair of the House GOP campaign operation instructed lawmakers last week not to hold in-person town halls to avoid scrutiny from constituents. 'In the past month, we have seen an unprecedented attack on our federal workforce through the indiscriminate firings of probationary employees,' Elfreth said in a statement. 'These are patriots who serve our country, but instead of being thanked for their service, they were tossed to the curb and told not to let the door hit them on the way out.' Co-sponsors of the legislation include Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Brad Schneider of Illinois and Rep. Darren Soto of Florida. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland are planning to introduce companion legislation to Elfreth's bill in the Senate. Federal workers would only benefit from the Protect Our Probationary Employees Act if they were rehired by the federal government in their same positions — but there is some hope among advocates that the courts may compel the administration to do so. After the Trump administration, at DOGE's behest, moved to fire broad swaths of the government workforce in their probationary period, a judge ruled that action was illegal. The judge did not, however, order that the affected employees be reinstated. Separately, the chair of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board board ordered this month that the Trump administration must reinstate thousands of probationary workers terminated by the Department of Agriculture. Still, there is virtually no chance the bill will become law in a Republican governing trifecta.
