Latest news with #Valentine'sDayMassacre
CNN
25-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
Analysis: American Battleground: Tearing down the house with the richest man in the world
When the man in black charges onstage swinging a chainsaw while he whoops and hollers, the moment could be mistaken for a scene from 'The Hunger Games.' The screaming crowd makes it seem even more so. 'This is the chain saw for bureaucracy!' Elon Musk shouts, grinning behind dark sunglasses and beneath a MAGA black baseball cap. The spectacle by the richest man in the world at the Conservative Political Action Conference is a sensation, and not just because Musk spent more than $290 million of his own money to help push Donald Trump and other Republicans to their landmark wins last fall. Trump has given Musk the job of doing what so many conservatives have craved for so long: hacking the federal government to pieces. The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was initially conceived as an effort under the command of both Musk and his fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump said the group's mission was 'making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans.' It's an oddly bureaucratic description for the coming carnage. As the DOGE team goes to work, headlines emerge of Musk and a group of young, technology whizzes (including a 19-year-old who goes by the moniker 'Big Balls') roaming the halls of government, demanding access to files, prying into computer records, and rapidly pushing tens of thousands of federal workers to consider resigning or risk being fired. At Yosemite National Park, employee Andria Townsend is terminated along with hundreds of other National Park employees in what they are calling the 'Valentine's Day Massacre.' She sees calamity lurking in the coming collision of understaffed facilities, decreased maintenance and the massive vacation crowds. 'Moving forward, I think it's just going to make life even harder and less efficient for the people working in the federal government right now, which seems to be the opposite of what the administration is trying to do.' At the Department of Veterans Affairs, Latisha Thompson watches DOGE's cuts with trepidation as reports trickle in from Trump supporters in the government who are shocked to find they too have been given pink slips. 'This will have consequences in every community,' Thompson says. 'Veterans will wait longer for the medical care that they need, Social Security claims will be delayed, food safety inspections will be cut back. We will have disaster response that will just be gutted.' DOGE makes foreign aid an early target. Sending tax dollars to help other people in other nations has never been particularly popular with American voters, even though it accounts for less than 1% of the federal budget. Dead center in DOGE's sights is the US Agency for International Development, with a long pedigree in providing education, health care, expertise, food and other services to struggling communities around the world. Many experienced political hands see it as a leading edge of America's 'soft power,' promoting goodwill and democratic ideals at bargain prices. 'Development is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers,' former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates once famously said. But DOGE paints USAID as a hotbed of corruption, with taxpayer funds going to contractors in sweetheart deals, given away or stolen. Musk, without evidence, calls it a 'criminal organization.' Trump says it is 'run by a bunch of radical lunatics.' Administrators are put on forced leave. Workers are seen walking out with cardboard boxes of their belongings. Aid facilities around the world are shuttered overnight, leaving potentially lifesaving deliveries of food and medicine spoiling on distant docks. A global network of American influence built over 60 years is in shambles. A longtime aid worker who lost her job when the contractor she worked for was cut off does not want to be identified. But Jane, as we will call her, says her colleagues could barely comprehend the action. 'I think they were heartbroken for the people in the countries that they were working in — seeing programs completely shut down on 24 hours' notice. I don't think Musk cared. I don't think Trump cared.' Jane sighs and adds, 'I think people were heartbroken being called criminals for the life's work that they did.' That despair might be not a bug, but a feature. Right before the fall election, a key contributor to Project 2025 spoke at an event hosted by the ultra-right-wing think tank Center for Renewing America, of which he was president. Russell Vought's words, initially brought to light by ProPublica, offer an insight into how unmercifully some conservatives wanted to force federal workers into submission and retreat. 'We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,' Vought said in October. 'When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work, because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. We want their funding to be shut down.' Then, in case anyone missed the point in the giggling audience, he added, 'We want to put them in trauma.' Vought was director of the US Office of Management and Budget in Trump's first term, and despite Democrats calling him Trump's 'most dangerous nominee,' Republicans have confirmed him to the job again. When Vought is called before the Senate Budget Committee just after resuming his work, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia grills him about the 'gleeful speech,' asking whether Vought honestly wants air traffic controllers, infant formula safety inspectors and drug enforcement officers traumatized. Vought repeatedly squirms and answers, 'No.' The coup de grace comes as Kaine notes Vought's own mother was a civil servant — a schoolteacher — and recites even more of the budget boss's own words back to him. 'We want to take all these programs that help everyday people who are struggling and cut them because they are 'woke and weaponized.' Those are your words, not mine,' Kaine says. Still, when Vought leaves the hot seat, he goes right back to helping DOGE slash through the Internal Revenue Service; the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the CIA; the Social Security Administration; and Voice of America, which has provided news and free speech to beleaguered nations for generations. DOGE professes to have found tens of billions of dollars of 'waste, fraud and abuse.' That is nowhere near the $2 trillion Musk initially said he'd save taxpayers, but, if accurate, it's still a big ticket. However, when members of Congress and journalists press for details, many of the claims crumble. The DOGE website, billed as its 'wall of receipts,' seems as flimsy as paper. An ICE contract, canceled by DOGE and listed as $8 billion in savings, turns out to be for at most $8 million, a mistake The New York Times says should have been easily noticed since the lower number comes close to the entire annual budget for ICE. A vendor tells 'PBS Newshour' that his company was listed as having a federal contract for nearly $10 million but it was for only $100,000 and the deal was never signed. Some contracts are listed multiple times on the website. Supposed savings posted by DOGE are repeatedly revised, exaggerated or removed when they prove inaccurate. DOGE's chain saw approach leads to other embarrassments, too. Dozens of workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration are terminated in a wave of layoffs at the Energy Department. Then, when the administration realizes these are the people who oversee the nation's nuclear weapons, they are quickly recalled. A free health care program for first responders to the 9/11 attacks is left reeling by on-again, off-again reports that its funding may be frozen. At a CNN town hall, Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut says she wants to hear about real waste, but many in her party believe Musk is leading a secretive, dangerous and deeply flawed process. 'What we're talking about is burning down the house instead of taking out the garbage,' she says. Musk and company push on, seeking (and in many cases reportedly getting) access to tax returns, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information belonging to millions of regular Americans. As a rule, anyone in the way is pushed aside, reassigned or fired. DOGE taps into computer systems the Treasury Department uses to make payments. Considering Musk was not elected to any role — he is a special government employee and, as such, not subject to the protocol or checks of a typical federal worker — some see this as akin to the friend of a bank teller getting access to all the customers' accounts and credit card numbers. 'Terrifying,' says Democratic strategist and CNN contributor Paul Begala. 'You're talking about literally trillions of dollars. The crown jewels of the federal government are the nuclear arsenal and the Treasury payment systems.' Ramaswamy is nowhere to be seen, having left DOGE right after Trump was sworn in. Ramaswamy, now running for governor of Ohio, denies rumors that disagreements with Musk played a part in his departure, but he tells Fox News: 'We had different — and complementary — approaches. I focused more on a constitutional law, legislative-based approach. He focused more on a technology approach.' Under pressure over DOGE's activity, Trump invites journalists into the Oval Office for a rambling session with Musk. 'Some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected,' Musk says as his young son sits on his shoulders and lounges on his head. 'Nobody's going to bat a thousand … we will make mistakes, but we will act quickly to correct any mistakes.' Then he promptly repeats what is already a widely debunked claim about $50 million worth of condoms being sent to Gaza. Trump praises the unproven 'billions and billions' in savings. Musk says, 'The people voted for major government reform, and that's what people are going to get.' Both brush off the question so many watchdog groups have raised: How can Musk, whose companies have billions in government contracts, not have a conflict of interest in overseeing precisely that kind of spending? Debates break out on news shows and podcasts over whether Musk is becoming more of a liability to Trump than an asset, and whether he is approaching his own termination date. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who has raised alarms about Musk's role, shares with Politico a reason the president might want to keep the owner of X close. 'He (Musk) holds the two tactical nuclear weapons of modern politics, which is unlimited cash and a social media platform that's not just ubiquitous, but also he can deem who's heard and who's not heard.' It's a keen observation, because as public alarm rises over Musk's role, some critics are expressing themselves in dramatic ways. Across the country, attacks are reported on Tesla dealerships, charging stations and privately owned cars. At a Nevada Tesla repair business, police say an unidentified attacker shoots and sets fire to cars, and the word 'RESIST' is spray-painted across the shop's front door. Gunfire, arson and vandalism incidents pop up around the Tesla brand in Kansas, Oregon, Massachusetts, Florida, South Carolina, Colorado, Texas and Washington, DC. Team Trump, which has purposely upended the lives, careers and personal finances of thousands of federal workers with seemingly not a moment of concern, rushes to help the beleaguered billionaire. 'Those responsible will be pursued, caught, and brought to justice,' the FBI's new director, Kash Patel, says while announcing a task force to 'crack down on violent Tesla attacks.' When a 24-year-old Colorado man is accused in one case, US Attorney General Pam Bondi says she will prosecute him with eyes on a 20-year sentence. 'When I looked at those showrooms burning and those cars … exploding all over the place,' Trump says from the Oval Office. 'You didn't have that on January 6 … these are terrorists.' Trump's secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick, urges people to buy Tesla stock, astonishing ethics analysts by using his public office to promote a private company over its rivals. Trump, for his part, converts the White House into a makeshift car lot. Posing with Musk and a line of new Teslas, Trump declares he's going to buy one from his uber-wealthy friend. 'I think he's been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people,' Trump says, 'and I just want people to know that he can't be penalized for being a patriot.' None of it has erased the steep tumble of Tesla's stock value, which is mesmerizing Wall Street. Musk complains on X, 'Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks.' Nevertheless, some Tesla owners start slapping stickers on the back of their cars saying things like 'I bought this before Elon went crazy' and 'Mars is ready Elon. Go. And take Trump with you.' 'I have rarely if ever seen any change of perception as dramatic as this one,' says CNN's chief data analyst, Harry Enten, as public approval ratings for the electric car impresario drive off a cliff. Many on the right remain delighted with the work of DOGE. For decades, these voters have chafed at the inability of Republican leaders to rein in what they are convinced is a lazy, corrupt, incompetent bureaucracy; a 'deep state' that thwarts their political ambitions while taking their hard-earned dollars. Trump supports that sentiment, and insiders say he truly enjoys hanging out with Musk, whether at Mar-a-Lago, at a rocket launch, or while stirring up the MAGA base with speeches about a new age in which the government truly works for them. Nonetheless, the broship's philosophy of smashing everything first and figuring out if they went too far second is risky. It is unclear what the government will look like, or cost, or be able to do once the demolition is complete. It is equally uncertain how much it will take to restart some of these programs if Trump or a future president chooses to do so. And while many disruptions in service will likely not affect the super-rich, they may be life-altering for working Americans living paycheck to paycheck and relying on government programs. Some of those voters will soon start appearing online and in news stories to say they voted for the 47th president, but they did not vote for this.
CNN
25-04-2025
- Business
- CNN
Analysis: American Battleground: Tearing down the house with the richest man in the world
When the man in black charges onstage swinging a chainsaw while he whoops and hollers, the moment could be mistaken for a scene from 'The Hunger Games.' The screaming crowd makes it seem even more so. 'This is the chain saw for bureaucracy!' Elon Musk shouts, grinning behind dark sunglasses and beneath a MAGA black baseball cap. The spectacle by the richest man in the world at the Conservative Political Action Conference is a sensation, and not just because Musk spent more than $290 million of his own money to help push Donald Trump and other Republicans to their landmark wins last fall. Trump has given Musk the job of doing what so many conservatives have craved for so long: hacking the federal government to pieces. The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was initially conceived as an effort under the command of both Musk and his fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump said the group's mission was 'making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans.' It's an oddly bureaucratic description for the coming carnage. As the DOGE team goes to work, headlines emerge of Musk and a group of young, technology whizzes (including a 19-year-old who goes by the moniker 'Big Balls') roaming the halls of government, demanding access to files, prying into computer records, and rapidly pushing tens of thousands of federal workers to consider resigning or risk being fired. At Yosemite National Park, employee Andria Townsend is terminated along with hundreds of other National Park employees in what they are calling the 'Valentine's Day Massacre.' She sees calamity lurking in the coming collision of understaffed facilities, decreased maintenance and the massive vacation crowds. 'Moving forward, I think it's just going to make life even harder and less efficient for the people working in the federal government right now, which seems to be the opposite of what the administration is trying to do.' At the Department of Veterans Affairs, Latisha Thompson watches DOGE's cuts with trepidation as reports trickle in from Trump supporters in the government who are shocked to find they too have been given pink slips. 'This will have consequences in every community,' Thompson says. 'Veterans will wait longer for the medical care that they need, Social Security claims will be delayed, food safety inspections will be cut back. We will have disaster response that will just be gutted.' DOGE makes foreign aid an early target. Sending tax dollars to help other people in other nations has never been particularly popular with American voters, even though it accounts for less than 1% of the federal budget. Dead center in DOGE's sights is the US Agency for International Development, with a long pedigree in providing education, health care, expertise, food and other services to struggling communities around the world. Many experienced political hands see it as a leading edge of America's 'soft power,' promoting goodwill and democratic ideals at bargain prices. 'Development is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers,' former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates once famously said. But DOGE paints USAID as a hotbed of corruption, with taxpayer funds going to contractors in sweetheart deals, given away or stolen. Musk, without evidence, calls it a 'criminal organization.' Trump says it is 'run by a bunch of radical lunatics.' Administrators are put on forced leave. Workers are seen walking out with cardboard boxes of their belongings. Aid facilities around the world are shuttered overnight, leaving potentially lifesaving deliveries of food and medicine spoiling on distant docks. A global network of American influence built over 60 years is in shambles. A longtime aid worker who lost her job when the contractor she worked for was cut off does not want to be identified. But Jane, as we will call her, says her colleagues could barely comprehend the action. 'I think they were heartbroken for the people in the countries that they were working in — seeing programs completely shut down on 24 hours' notice. I don't think Musk cared. I don't think Trump cared.' Jane sighs and adds, 'I think people were heartbroken being called criminals for the life's work that they did.' That despair might be not a bug, but a feature. Right before the fall election, a key contributor to Project 2025 spoke at an event hosted by the ultra-right-wing think tank Center for Renewing America, of which he was president. Russell Vought's words, initially brought to light by ProPublica, offer an insight into how unmercifully some conservatives wanted to force federal workers into submission and retreat. 'We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,' Vought said in October. 'When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work, because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. We want their funding to be shut down.' Then, in case anyone missed the point in the giggling audience, he added, 'We want to put them in trauma.' Vought was director of the US Office of Management and Budget in Trump's first term, and despite Democrats calling him Trump's 'most dangerous nominee,' Republicans have confirmed him to the job again. When Vought is called before the Senate Budget Committee just after resuming his work, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia grills him about the 'gleeful speech,' asking whether Vought honestly wants air traffic controllers, infant formula safety inspectors and drug enforcement officers traumatized. Vought repeatedly squirms and answers, 'No.' The coup de grace comes as Kaine notes Vought's own mother was a civil servant — a schoolteacher — and recites even more of the budget boss's own words back to him. 'We want to take all these programs that help everyday people who are struggling and cut them because they are 'woke and weaponized.' Those are your words, not mine,' Kaine says. Still, when Vought leaves the hot seat, he goes right back to helping DOGE slash through the Internal Revenue Service; the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the CIA; the Social Security Administration; and Voice of America, which has provided news and free speech to beleaguered nations for generations. DOGE professes to have found tens of billions of dollars of 'waste, fraud and abuse.' That is nowhere near the $2 trillion Musk initially said he'd save taxpayers, but, if accurate, it's still a big ticket. However, when members of Congress and journalists press for details, many of the claims crumble. The DOGE website, billed as its 'wall of receipts,' seems as flimsy as paper. An ICE contract, canceled by DOGE and listed as $8 billion in savings, turns out to be for at most $8 million, a mistake The New York Times says should have been easily noticed since the lower number comes close to the entire annual budget for ICE. A vendor tells 'PBS Newshour' that his company was listed as having a federal contract for nearly $10 million but it was for only $100,000 and the deal was never signed. Some contracts are listed multiple times on the website. Supposed savings posted by DOGE are repeatedly revised, exaggerated or removed when they prove inaccurate. DOGE's chain saw approach leads to other embarrassments, too. Dozens of workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration are terminated in a wave of layoffs at the Energy Department. Then, when the administration realizes these are the people who oversee the nation's nuclear weapons, they are quickly recalled. A free health care program for first responders to the 9/11 attacks is left reeling by on-again, off-again reports that its funding may be frozen. At a CNN town hall, Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut says she wants to hear about real waste, but many in her party believe Musk is leading a secretive, dangerous and deeply flawed process. 'What we're talking about is burning down the house instead of taking out the garbage,' she says. Musk and company push on, seeking (and in many cases reportedly getting) access to tax returns, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information belonging to millions of regular Americans. As a rule, anyone in the way is pushed aside, reassigned or fired. DOGE taps into computer systems the Treasury Department uses to make payments. Considering Musk was not elected to any role — he is a special government employee and, as such, not subject to the protocol or checks of a typical federal worker — some see this as akin to the friend of a bank teller getting access to all the customers' accounts and credit card numbers. 'Terrifying,' says Democratic strategist and CNN contributor Paul Begala. 'You're talking about literally trillions of dollars. The crown jewels of the federal government are the nuclear arsenal and the Treasury payment systems.' Ramaswamy is nowhere to be seen, having left DOGE right after Trump was sworn in. Ramaswamy, now running for governor of Ohio, denies rumors that disagreements with Musk played a part in his departure, but he tells Fox News: 'We had different — and complementary — approaches. I focused more on a constitutional law, legislative-based approach. He focused more on a technology approach.' Under pressure over DOGE's activity, Trump invites journalists into the Oval Office for a rambling session with Musk. 'Some of the things that I say will be incorrect and should be corrected,' Musk says as his young son sits on his shoulders and lounges on his head. 'Nobody's going to bat a thousand … we will make mistakes, but we will act quickly to correct any mistakes.' Then he promptly repeats what is already a widely debunked claim about $50 million worth of condoms being sent to Gaza. Trump praises the unproven 'billions and billions' in savings. Musk says, 'The people voted for major government reform, and that's what people are going to get.' Both brush off the question so many watchdog groups have raised: How can Musk, whose companies have billions in government contracts, not have a conflict of interest in overseeing precisely that kind of spending? Debates break out on news shows and podcasts over whether Musk is becoming more of a liability to Trump than an asset, and whether he is approaching his own termination date. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who has raised alarms about Musk's role, shares with Politico a reason the president might want to keep the owner of X close. 'He (Musk) holds the two tactical nuclear weapons of modern politics, which is unlimited cash and a social media platform that's not just ubiquitous, but also he can deem who's heard and who's not heard.' It's a keen observation, because as public alarm rises over Musk's role, some critics are expressing themselves in dramatic ways. Across the country, attacks are reported on Tesla dealerships, charging stations and privately owned cars. At a Nevada Tesla repair business, police say an unidentified attacker shoots and sets fire to cars, and the word 'RESIST' is spray-painted across the shop's front door. Gunfire, arson and vandalism incidents pop up around the Tesla brand in Kansas, Oregon, Massachusetts, Florida, South Carolina, Colorado, Texas and Washington, DC. Team Trump, which has purposely upended the lives, careers and personal finances of thousands of federal workers with seemingly not a moment of concern, rushes to help the beleaguered billionaire. 'Those responsible will be pursued, caught, and brought to justice,' the FBI's new director, Kash Patel, says while announcing a task force to 'crack down on violent Tesla attacks.' When a 24-year-old Colorado man is accused in one case, US Attorney General Pam Bondi says she will prosecute him with eyes on a 20-year sentence. 'When I looked at those showrooms burning and those cars … exploding all over the place,' Trump says from the Oval Office. 'You didn't have that on January 6 … these are terrorists.' Trump's secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick, urges people to buy Tesla stock, astonishing ethics analysts by using his public office to promote a private company over its rivals. Trump, for his part, converts the White House into a makeshift car lot. Posing with Musk and a line of new Teslas, Trump declares he's going to buy one from his uber-wealthy friend. 'I think he's been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people,' Trump says, 'and I just want people to know that he can't be penalized for being a patriot.' None of it has erased the steep tumble of Tesla's stock value, which is mesmerizing Wall Street. Musk complains on X, 'Tesla just makes electric cars and has done nothing to deserve these evil attacks.' Nevertheless, some Tesla owners start slapping stickers on the back of their cars saying things like 'I bought this before Elon went crazy' and 'Mars is ready Elon. Go. And take Trump with you.' 'I have rarely if ever seen any change of perception as dramatic as this one,' says CNN's chief data analyst, Harry Enten, as public approval ratings for the electric car impresario drive off a cliff. Many on the right remain delighted with the work of DOGE. For decades, these voters have chafed at the inability of Republican leaders to rein in what they are convinced is a lazy, corrupt, incompetent bureaucracy; a 'deep state' that thwarts their political ambitions while taking their hard-earned dollars. Trump supports that sentiment, and insiders say he truly enjoys hanging out with Musk, whether at Mar-a-Lago, at a rocket launch, or while stirring up the MAGA base with speeches about a new age in which the government truly works for them. Nonetheless, the broship's philosophy of smashing everything first and figuring out if they went too far second is risky. It is unclear what the government will look like, or cost, or be able to do once the demolition is complete. It is equally uncertain how much it will take to restart some of these programs if Trump or a future president chooses to do so. And while many disruptions in service will likely not affect the super-rich, they may be life-altering for working Americans living paycheck to paycheck and relying on government programs. Some of those voters will soon start appearing online and in news stories to say they voted for the 47th president, but they did not vote for this.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Glacier National Park faces summer of uncertainty
Mar. 30—Glacier National Park officials say the upcoming summer season remains unclear amid federal budget cuts and mass terminations. "I'm standing here as deputy superintendent saying I don't know what's going to happen in Glacier in two months," said Pete Webster at a March 24 meeting with the Glacier National Park Volunteer Association. The informal state-of-the-park address was a rare and candid look at Glacier's inner workings. Webster traded his green and gray uniform for blue jeans and leaned casually against the lectern as he fielded questions from the audience. He began with a warning that most would be met with the same response: I don't know. "We're never going to know what the summer is going to look like 'til October," he said. A 40-year employee of the National Park Service, Webster is well-versed in government shutdowns. He has weathered previous mass layoffs and transfers of power within the agency, but his voice often trailed off as he searched for the words to describe recent efforts undertaken by the Trump administration. "This is different," he admitted. The best way to think about the current state of the park, advised Webster, was to remember the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. When Glacier National Park's gates closed almost exactly five years ago, there were few insights into when and how they would reopen. The park's shuttering put staff into what former Superintendent Jeff Mow described as a "wait-and-see mode" ahead of the busy summer season. "We didn't know anything and, really, we had no information to make a plan," said Webster. "That's where we're at this year." In the absence of an overarching plan, Webster said he is focusing on the well-being of his employees and helping them plan for any and all scenarios, including cuts to program budgets, workforce reductions and their own terminations. At full capacity, the park boasts about 120 full-time employees, but several roles were reportedly vacant when the federal government froze hiring in January. Since then, the park has lost another seven employees. Five employees opted into a deferred resignation program offered in early February. According to the Office of Personnel Management, those staff members are not expected to work though they remain on the National Park Service's payroll through Sept. 30. According to a public statement from Congressman Ryan Zinke, two other employees were terminated as part of the so-called "Valentine's Day Massacre," in which the Office of Personnel Management sent form emails to thousands of federal workers in probationary status. A federal judge ordered the immediate reinstation of those positions earlier this month, but the Justice Department promptly filed a notice of appeal, making the future status of the employees unclear. On March 17, Department of Interior employees, including National Park Service workers, were offered early retirement and financial incentives to voluntarily leave their positions. The deadline for employees to opt in was March 26, but employees are not required to separate from the agency until May 31. "Folks are paying attention to that, and I don't think anyone's made a decision," Webster said at the Monday meeting. He hypothesized that some employees may initially opt into the program in order to keep their options open and said the impact on Glacier's staff likely won't be obvious until the May 31 separation deadline has passed. Given the pace and scale of the Trump administration's actions, more staffing cuts are possible, and Webster said he is urging his employees to make personal copies of pay stubs and other personnel files in case they are unexpectedly locked out of their government accounts. The continual threat of termination has an emotional component as well. "Morale? It's all over the board," said Webster. "We have folks that are content and folks that are desperately scared." THERE ARE a few bright spots. In February, the Trump administration partially lifted a federal hiring freeze to allow the National Park Service to fill 7,700 temporary seasonal positions. Glacier typically begins hiring its summer workforce in August, nearly a full year ahead of time. A park official confirmed that Glacier rescinded "a large number" of seasonal job offers following the initial executive order but says the park is now "making great advances" to build up the summer workforce. According to Webster, job offers have been sent out for about 250 job positions. Of those, about 105 hires have completed pre-employment background checks. Glacier typically hires around 325 seasonal employees to help manage its influx of summer visitors. Public Affairs Officer Gina Icenoggle confirmed that plow crews are among the recent hires and said that she does not expect the park's summer opening to be delayed. "I'm very confident that Going-to-the-Sun Road will open as usual," she said. A slate of construction projects, including large-scale renovations in the Many Glacier area, are also proceeding on schedule. Despite the correlations Webster drew to 2020, the park is not anticipating any new closures or restrictions, though he did suggest that visitors build contingencies into their summer plans. His other piece of advice for dealing with an unprecedented summer season at Glacier National Park: "If you're going through the entrance station, a little extra umph at the gate," to show support for park staff. Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at hsmalley@ or 758-4433.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fired by Elon Musk's DOGE, then reinstated by a judge, thousands of federal workers are living in limbo
The IRS employee was a nervous wreck. He had been worried for weeks that his job would be cut as part of the next round of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's cuts to the federal workforce. The worker, who prefers to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, was constantly searching for updates on a Reddit forum for federal workers, and glued to a group chat with his coworkers. 'I was just kind of a mess because I knew it was pretty much over,' he says. That's why when the ax finally fell, and his manager called to let him know he had been cut, it felt almost like a relief. He was fired along with thousands of other probationary workers in what was dubbed the 'Valentine's Day Massacre.' 'There was a period of expectation that this was going to happen— I was more or less just waiting for it. When I got the call, I was not surprised,' he says. Large swaths of the government workforce have been laid off over the past two months through a variety of unprecedented means, including a return-to-office mandate and a mass resignation offer. But some groups were singled out for termination, including probationary employees. These workers—defined as recent hires or long-serving staffers who recently switched positions—were cut en masse in February when the Trump administration ordered federal agencies to fire nearly all of them. Around 220,000 federal employees in total had less than a year of service completed as of March 2024, according to government data. Last week, two separate court rulings ordered the Trump administration to reinstate these fired probationary employees. But rather than a happy ending and a triumphant return to the office, many of these workers are grappling with new obstacles preventing their return, the emotional upheaval that comes with living in uncertainty, and big questions about what happens next. 'It's beyond demoralizing to be stuck in this depressing and inefficient limbo—fired one moment, then supposedly rehired with no clarity about pay or benefits,' one Housing and Urban Development employee, who prefers not to be named for fear of retaliation, tells Fortune. 'I don't even know if I should look for another job or prepare to show up at HUD tomorrow.' The firing of probationary workers was instantly met with legal challenges. But employees who lived through it had to contend with the day-to-day reality of lost paychecks, healthcare benefits, and dramatically altered lives. Fired without severance, the IRS employee quickly filed for unemployment, but his claim was not immediately approved. He says he 'has the means to weather the storm,' but has spent the last few weeks looking for new jobs without much luck. The HUD employee's termination, on the other hand, immediately triggered financial uncertainty, and her retired parents have stepped up to help pay bills. As someone with chronic illness, the loss of health insurance in particular triggered immense anxiety. 'It's been one of the worst points of my life, in my marriage, [as] a mom, as a daughter,' she says. She adds that there were at least three days when she 'just stayed in bed after my kids went to school and cried.' Last week, terminated probationary employees caught a break. On March 14, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered six federal agencies, including the Department of Treasury, to reinstate thousands of employees who were cut under the guidance of the Office of Personnel management, a move he declared illegal. A different federal judge in Maryland ruled in favor of 20 Democrat attorneys general calling for the reinstatement of fired probationary federal workers from 18 federal agencies. The Trump administration has filed appeals in both cases. The court's decision to reinstate probationary employees has been the only light in a dark few weeks for the HUD employee. 'My parents were so happy—my dad started crying,' she says. But while last week's court rulings were technically a victory for probationary workers, it's not quite as simple as a triumphant Monday morning return to the office. The court rulings take issue with the way that these workers were fired, not a federal agency's right to fire them in general, and many are likely still headed for termination. While some workers have returned to their old roles, others were reinstated only to be immediately put on administrative leave, according to emails sent by the OPM and viewed by Fortune. These workers were told they 'should not report to duty or perform any work until receiving further guidance.' As of writing, both the HUD and IRS employees have received no additional communication regarding a timeline on when, or even if, they will return to work. It's unclear how long this administrative leave will last, and each agency is acting in different ways. As of March 17, HUD had fully reinstated only 13 employees, while 299 were placed on administrative leave, according to statements submitted to the court by government agency leaders. The chief human capital officer at HUD, Lori Michalski, wrote that immediately reinstating those employees would 'impose substantial burdens on HUD, cause significant confusion, and cause turmoil for the terminated employees.' The IRS wrote in the same filing that it was working to reinstate 7,613 employees affected by the probationary worker terminations. However, the agency also noted that if an appellate ruling reverses the decision to bring back these workers, they 'could be subjected to multiple changes in their employment status in a number of weeks.' Currently, the day-to-day lives of both the IRS and HUD employees don't look very different compared to before they were waiting to find out if they would be reinstated. They expect their previous paychecks to go through during the next pay cycle, but the HUD worker still has not had her health insurance reinstated. While the IRS worker said he would be happy to be reinstated, and would gladly go back to the IRS if and when they allow him to do so. But he acknowledges that 'it's certainly not an avenue that I can rely on over the long term.' The HUD employee says she's applied for 168 jobs, and has had one informational interview. She thought she had chosen a stable career when she left the private sector to work for the government, but now says she has to think of her family's future. 'I don't want to count on this federal job. I don't know if it will last.' This story was originally featured on
CBS News
17-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Fired CISA probationary employees to be reinstated after U.S. judge's order last week
More than 130 probationary employees fired last month from the nation's top cyber defense agency will be reinstated Monday, after the Trump administration scrambled to comply with a sweeping court order issued last week. The employees — all of whom were hired or promoted within the past three years — won't immediately return to the office, but instead will be placed on paid administrative leave. Maryland U.S. District Judge James Bredar on Thursday demanded the Trump administration reinstate the probationary employees it initially terminated if they were part of the mass firing , though he did not ban the government from lawfully terminating probationary employees under a reduction in force or for cause. In an email sent Sunday night and obtained by CBS News, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA , informed the workers that their employment has been restored at the pay rate they had before they were terminated. "Upon reinstatement, your pay and benefits will restart, and all requirements of federal employment will be applicable including your ethical obligations," the email read. "If you do not wish to be reinstated, please respond with a written statement declining to be reinstated as quickly as possible. Nothing in this process implicates your ability to voluntarily resign." Judge Bredar ordered probationary employees at 18 federal agencies to be reinstated by March 17, either to their jobs or to be placed on administrative leave. The temporary restraining order directed the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, General Services Administration, Small Business Administration and U.S. Agency for International Development to rejoin fired federal workers to the payroll. On Monday morning, CISA posted a message on its home page noting it is "making every effort to individually contact all impacted individuals," but added that fired employees who believe they fall under the Court's order should contact the agency. Over 4% of CISA's workforce were fired en masse, an event known as the "Valentine's Day Massacre" by employees. A form-letter email previously informed employees they were "not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the Agency's current needs." Among those impacted were the nation's threat hunters, incident response team members, disabled veterans and employees who'd already signed onto the federal government's deferred resignation program . The cuts also decimated many of the agency's top recruits, enlisted through a program known as the Cyber Talent Management System, plus analysts with top-secret security clearances. It remains unclear if the agency plans to offer backpay to those previously removed. Complicating their reinstatement, several of the previously fired CISA employees told CBS News they had already been instructed to return their laptops and equipment to the agency. Others said they do not expect to be required to physically return to the office. The temporary restraining order is set to expire March 27 at 8 p.m., unless the court acts to extend it. CBS News has reached out to both CISA and DHS for comment.
