POLITICO MAKES SURPRISE IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION TO TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: Federal employees are worried about a return of Donald Trump to the White House.
EPA employees are shuffling to “safer” agencies. An Interior Department worker is putting off buying a new car and poring over Project 2025. And civil servants across the government are worried they might soon get fired.
Federal employees throughout the executive branch are panicking at the thought of another Trump administration.
Former President Donald Trump has pledged to “demolish the deep state.” His running mate, Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance, has said Trump ought to fire “every civil servant in the administrative state.” It’s not just campaign-trail bluster. In the waning days of his first administration, Trump sought to make it easier to fire federal employees — a move that was quickly reversed by the Biden administration.
Workers in some agencies are particularly distraught about a possible Trump return. The former president and his allies have singled out certain agencies — including those that issue environmental rules — as prime targets, should he return to office in January.
Climate, clean energy and conservation programs scaled up and burnished with cash during the Biden administration are certain to be lightning rods for Trump and his team. That’s looming large over energy and environmental workers, who are feeling the pressure on a professional level as they’re hustling to get Biden’s priorities wrapped up in the coming months. It’s also hitting them personally as they fear they might soon be out of a job.
The prospect of a Trump return is shaping how one Interior employee and their spouse — another federal worker — are handling their finances.
“We have stopped doing any money-spending things because what if we’re without jobs in the next year?” the Interior employee said. “We need all the savings we can get.”
I’ll take “Statements millions of ordinary Americans have been saying during the last four years” for $500, Alex.
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