One of President Donald Trump's supporters who was laid off from their job with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) told Trump on social media that they're "counting on you now to make this right"—and critics are just shaking their heads with total "told you so" energy.
The cuts at USDA are the latest spurred by billionaire Elon Musk's (non-department) Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE); the administration fired probationary staff at two of USDA's research agencies and its farm loan agency. It was not immediately clear how many staff members were affected by the mass firings, and sources told Reuters that they occurred overnight.
Musk has garnered criticism for gutting federal agencies via DOGE despite not being an elected official—and a foreign-born, unelected official at that.
In fact, according to a White House record, Musk's job title is listed as "unlisted." When Trump established DOGE through an executive order, he integrated it into the White House by transforming the U.S. Digital Service into the U.S. DOGE Service. The order specified that an "administrator" would lead DOGE but did not indicate who held the position.
Earlier this month, a White House spokesperson stated that Musk holds the title of an unpaid special government employee, a designation that exempts him from the standard ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations applicable to federal workers. As a result, Trump's order for federal agencies to prepare for “large-scale reductions in force” is in full-swing.
All of this is to say that many federal workers—whether they voted for Trump or not—find their positions on the chopping block, and this Trump supporter just found out they're not the exception to the rule.
They appealed to the president in a now-viral post:
"Hello Sir. I am one of the probationary employees terminated by the Doge at 9:00pm last night; February 14. I voted for you, Sir, three times, and I still support you. I was encouraged by the DOGE to see they were getting rid of wasteful government spending; I support that too.”
"My termination letter said I was being let go for performance reasons. I know that’s not true; I am an excellent employee. I’ve been with the Federal government for almost 16 years. Sixteen years in June."
“I had started my career with USDA, transferred to DHS, and recently came back to USDA because it’s such a great Agency to work for. Surely that must count for something in your eyes. I’m loyal and I firmly believe that the work I do as a USDA APHIS PPQ employee is vital and important. My boss, his boss, the managers in neighboring states, all agree I’m doing an excellent job and that I’m a great asset to the team.”
“I’m the only [redacted] in the State of Kentucky and my work here is valued and honorable. Each time I voted for you, it was because I knew you’d make things right and you’d fix the wrongs. I’m counting on you now to make this right too.”
They concluded:
"I'm pleading with you to reinstate my employment and give me my job back. Please, Mr. President. Thank you."
You can see their post below.
r/LeopardsAteMyFace/Reddit
No one had much sympathy considering the unnamed Trump supporter got exactly what they voted for—so why should any of us feel bad?
The Trump supporter's viral post came just days after actor Zachary Levi implored Musk and DOGE not to let their fellow Trump supporters "fall through the cracks" during an interview on Fox News.
Levi called DOGE "complicated" but said that "Elon and all of your team and whatever needs to happen, please don’t let everybody fall through the cracks, as we are doing what is necessary, which is to get in there and cut a cancer out."
Tough luck.
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AMC