1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I am writing to express my outrage over the continued damage being done to our federal government under the direction and influence of Russell Vought and this administration. A recent Government Executive article, titled “A Year After State Layoffs, Ex Feds Say U.S. Is Paying the Price in Iran and Ebola Crises,” illustrates exactly what many of us have feared. These indiscriminate attacks on federal agencies and career civil servants are not making our government more efficient. They are weakening our country and our ability to respond when Americans need their government most. Experienced public servants at the State Department and USAID were pushed out of their jobs, taking decades of specialized knowledge and expertise with them. Now, as our country faces serious international and public health crises, we are seeing the consequences. The article describes experienced Foreign Service officers with critical regional knowledge and language skills who reportedly volunteered to assist during the Iran crisis but were turned away. It also highlights concerns that dismantling USAID and eliminating experienced public health personnel has hindered efforts to respond to an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. This is what happens when governing is replaced by an ideological campaign to dismantle the federal workforce. Russell Vought has spent years advocating for dramatically reducing the federal government and weakening the career civil service. This administration has embraced that agenda, treating dedicated federal employees as though they are disposable rather than recognizing them as the people who carry out the essential work of our government. Career federal employees are not political enemies. They are diplomats, scientists, public health experts, veterans, emergency responders, claims specialists, inspectors, law enforcement personnel, and countless other professionals who possess knowledge that cannot simply be replaced overnight. The consequences of eliminating that expertise should now be impossible to ignore. You cannot fire thousands of experienced professionals, dismantle agencies, hollow out government institutions, and then expect those institutions to function normally when a crisis arrives. I am asking you to publicly condemn Russell Vought’s continued assault on the federal workforce and to use every power available to Congress to stop the further dismantling of our federal institutions. Congress must exercise meaningful oversight, protect career civil servants from politically motivated purges, and ensure that agencies have the staffing and resources necessary to fulfill their missions. There must also be accountability for decisions that have weakened our government’s ability to protect American interests and respond to crises. The American people deserve a government staffed by qualified professionals whose expertise is valued, not one where decades of institutional knowledge are sacrificed to satisfy an ideological agenda. Please stand up for our federal workforce and for the essential institutions that protect this country. The damage being done today could take years, if not decades, to repair. Congress cannot continue to stand by while critical government expertise is deliberately dismantled. I urge you to speak out forcefully and take concrete action before even more damage is done.