The initial message from Amanda Mae Downey’s manager on Saturday afternoon contained a misspelling of her name. The subsequent communication mentioned “the news” regarding probationary federal workers and the Trump administration's plan to terminate them.
Upon contacting her superior at a Michigan branch of the U.S. Forest Service, Downey discovered her name was on the termination list. She was required to visit the office to sign a letter formalizing her termination before the holiday weekend concluded. Her manager remarked, “I’m glad that our agency at least has decided we can do it in person, so we can add a little human touch to what’s going on,” according to a recording Downey provided to The Washington Post.
The mass firings that occurred over the holiday weekend were in response to a demand from the Trump administration to dismiss workers by Tuesday. Employees across various agencies referred to this error-laden series of firings as the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
The firings primarily targeted new hires on probation, who have fewer protections than permanent employees. This wave also affected individuals with years of service who transferred between agencies, military veterans, and people with disabilities hired through programs that required a two-year probation. Despite limited rights to appeal these dismissals, union leaders have vowed to challenge the mass firings in court, with the largest union representing federal workers planning to pursue legal action.
The Trump administration has not disclosed the number of workers terminated since last week, but as of last year, the government employed over 200,000 probationary workers. The firings extended across nearly every agency, affecting roles from map makers to cancer researchers, contradicting a U.S. Office of Personnel Management directive to retain “mission-critical” workers.
This account of the Trump administration’s firing spree, which sowed pain and chaos, is based on interviews and messages with over 275 federal workers, as well as dozens of government records and communications reviewed by The Washington Post.
The Federal Aviation Administration let go hundreds of technicians and engineers just weeks after a midair collision near the White House. Other agencies like FEMA are preparing to fire hundreds of probationary employees, even as they manage natural disasters. The administration also mistakenly terminated employees working in nuclear defense, only to reverse some of these firings.
The firings, described as rushed and botched, included errors in termination letters, incorrect job details, and misdirected legal help numbers. An email from OPM intended to streamline the process inadvertently caused more confusion, leading to further chaos.
Firing employees en masse with claims of poor performance is illegal, according to Jim Eisenmann of the Alden Law Group, as it violates federal laws covering career civil service employees. An OPM spokeswoman reiterated that the probationary period is not an entitlement for permanent employment.
Elon Musk, whose U.S. DOGE Service is spearheading the drive to downsize government, celebrated the firings on the social media platform X, declaring he was destroying “the woke mind virus.”
Affected employees shared their personal stories, highlighting the emotional and financial stress caused by these sudden terminations. Many had received positive performance reviews, contradicting the stated reasons for their dismissal.
Some employees, like Luke Graziani, a disabled Army veteran, are fighting to regain their positions, citing their critical roles and the abrupt nature of their termination.
Amidst the chaos, experts caution that while government reform is necessary, such hasty measures could jeopardize public services, making a clumsy fix worse than no fix at all.
The situation continues to evolve, with legal groups like the Alden Law Group and Democracy Forward filing complaints on behalf of affected employees, while federal judges weigh decisions on related legal challenges.
