Leah Feiger

Are people buying it?

Like, is she doing well?

And she's also, I found it fascinating, she's also not the only former government worker who was affected by Doge to be running for office now.

There are more than three dozen people who quit or lost their jobs in the wake of those cuts who are out there running for office now trying to change the system.

And good luck to them trying to change the system from Congress instead of from their federal purchase.

Before we go to break, we have one more firsthand testimony to share with listeners.

This one comes from Julian Richardson, who's a flight attendant, one of the more than 17,000 Spirit Airlines members who were affected by the company shutdown.

Last weekend, Spirit announced it was ceasing operations after 34 years, which I was shocked it had been around that long.

And after filing for bankruptcy twice in the last two years, that I was less shocked by.

Still, among all the rumors and the uncertainty, workers like Julian were caught off guard.

Workers like Julian were well aware, in case you're wondering, that Spirit had a reputation of being budget friendly, but not always the most reliable.

But he also said that as an employee, he saw a different side of that.

As I have two kids, I feel that deeply.

And also at a time when, you know, air safety is on a lot of people's minds, Julian also was particularly proud of the safety record that Spirit maintained.

Julian and his former colleagues are now having to reenter and navigate the uncertainty of the job market.

But one thing he is at least not worried about, surprisingly enough, AI.

Well, Neil, when you say stranded, I want to be clear, that's literal.

I think some of these employees, you know, they were not at their home cities when Spirit shut down.

So they had to rely on other airlines offering them a jump seat or a travel pass to get home.

You know, fortunately, it's apparently a very communal industry.