1. United States
2. Minn.
3. Letter

In the guise of an effort to reduce government spending, Trump signed an executive order on Feb 11th implementing a "workforce optimization initiative" to be rolled out by unelected billionaire Elon Musk and his questionably legal DOGE team. Since then, DOGE has laid off thousands of dedicated federal employees across a wide range of government agencies. Workforces that have been reduced include FEMA (right after multiple natural disasters), the IRS (just in time for tax season), the CDC (in the middle of a bird flu crisis), the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the US Forest Service, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the FAA and TSA (after multiple fatal plane crashes). Many of these layoffs were so ill-conceived that agencies then scrambled to rehire those fired, including the critical staff who manage our nuclear weapons. It has also become clear that many of these firings were personal for Musk, as they included workers investigating Musk's brain-implant company Neuralink and Tesla's self-driving technology. Labor unions representing some of these federal workers have filed lawsuits to challenge the layoffs and DOGE's authority. Many workers have taken to social media to share their stories. These workers are dedicated civil servants who do the necessary work to keep our government running and Americans safe. It is clear that Trump, Musk, and their wealthy allies care more about providing tax cuts to billionaires than maintaining a functioning society. Congress must step up to protect these federal workers and stop Trump's unconstitutional overreach of power.