How DOGE Cuts Are Impacting Federal Workers
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What is DOGE and how is it affecting federal workers?
More overnight train journeys. If you can lay down on the train, then it's just like next level. That's almost luxury. Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Susan Davis. I cover politics. And today, the latest on the Trump administration's continuing efforts to remake the federal government. Doge, the entity that Elon Musk has been the face of, is just one aspect of these changes. And how Doge wants to reshape the federal workforce has been steeped in controversy and court battles. And NPR correspondents Shannon Bond and Chris Arnold have been focusing on all of this. And join me now. Hello to you both. Hey, Sue.
Why are federal employees being terminated?
Hey, Sue.
Chris, let's start with you. There are more than 2 million federal employees doing all different kinds of jobs all over the country and even the world. And you talked to just a couple of them, people who work at national parks who have been impacted by what Doge is doing. Tell us about them.
Yeah, right. A lot of these workers who've been fired are what are called probationary workers. And that can sound at first like, oh, well, maybe they got hired six months ago, so maybe it's not that big a deal. But in many cases, it's not that. You could have worked someplace for five, six, seven, ten years, and then you get a promotion and you're in a new job because you were doing a good job. You're a good worker. And now you're in a probationary period in that new job. So these folks were in that category. And I talked to Eileen and James Kramer, and they worked at a national park in Alaska. It's called Lake Clark National Park. These guys have both gotten promotions recently. Everything seemed good. And then they get these letters saying, you know what, you're doing a lousy job.
And so you're fired today. No details, no reason. And it just looked like a formally letter with their names filled in. And here's Eileen and James.
That was really, I think, the hardest part about it was that they were saying we were underperforming, which isn't true.
They obviously didn't look at our personnel file because... We have evidence showing that we're great performers and we've exceeded expectations and we've received performance awards.
I got a regional award specifically in efficiency last year. So it's a little bit ironic to me that I'm being terminated as part of this government efficiency initiative.
Chris, I think this is really interesting for a couple of reasons. I'm glad you made that point that like not all probationary workers are, you know, first job out of college types. But also personnel records are legal documents. If you have a record of strong performance reviews of awards for excellence and the excuse your boss gives you is for failure to perform, that seems like it might open up even more of a legal avenue that maybe you were fired under false pretenses.
What legal actions are being taken against DOGE's policies?
I mean, that's what's happening right now. I mean, there are lawyers just gathering these up, you know, and being like, here's the letter. It's the same as the other thousand letters. And when you actually look at the personnel file, you know, this person got this commendation and, you know, and also they're talking and it turns out their own supervisor was like, I don't want to fire this person. I had no choice.
And so, Chris, what exactly is happening with these lawsuits now?
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is DOGE and how is it affecting federal workers?
0:56–1:29
2
Why are federal employees being terminated?
1:29–3:35
3
What legal actions are being taken against DOGE's policies?
3:35–7:03
4
How are federal agencies responding to Musk's directives?
7:03–9:53
5
What challenges are facing federal management under Musk's influence?
9:53–18:37