'Off the rails': Trump-backing federal workers fume after Musk fires them

The Los Angeles Times has interviewed federal workers who supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election who are now fuming after being fired by X owner Elon Musk'sDepartment of Government Efficiency.

One anonymous Department of Agriculture researcher told the Times that they were "thinking that there would be changes" when they supported Trump's candidacy but "instead of being focused, this is just going completely off the rails, chopping and slicing up parts of the government that are protecting Americans."

The worker, who wished to remain anonymous to increase the chances of getting their job back, said he was disturbed by the way Trump let Musk run rampant over the federal workforce.

Even worse, they said that there didn't seem to be any plan for rebuilding.

"No one is asking how they are going to put all this... back together again," they said.

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Former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services specialist Jocelyn Steward, meanwhile, said that she didn't believe that Trump would really terminate employees like her when she voted for him three times.

"There has been zero compassion for anything or anyone in this process," she argued. "A lot of these federal workers are doing good work. Please just show a little empathy."

She also warned Trump that keeping Musk on board was "going to ruin his presidency."

A laid-off Veterans Affairs Department staffer who only wished to be identified as "Mike," meanwhile said he had "proudly" voted for Trump but then added that "I never would have expected things to go this far... I'm still in shock."