Washington (AFP) – The few dozen demonstrators strode through the US Senate halls, taking their angry message door to door — part of growing grassroots protests against sweeping cuts to the government workforce led by billionaire Elon Musk. Trailed by security personnel warning them not to block the busy halls, the federal workers filed into the offices of multiple Republican senators, including majority leader John Thune, to voice their distress.
“The goal is to make ourselves heard,” said Steve, 33, who like many federal workers and contractors unsure about their futures, asked not to use his whole name for fear of reprisal. “We brought up examples of how people are directly impacted by the dismantling of agencies,” Steve said. Musk’s unprecedented onslaught against the US civil service in the first weeks of President Donald Trump’s second administration has upended entire agencies, leaving career government workers confused and bitter.
“Everybody is feeling the pain,” Steve said. Some of the senators seemed “receptive” at first, but when asked what they’d do to help, “it’s crickets.” Trump’s shock-and-awe approach, backed by an avalanche of executive orders seeking to put his hard-right stamp on every facet of government, has not seen anything like the kind of mass public protests seen at the start of his first term in 2017. But resistance is emerging among current and former federal workers, who are responding with demonstrations, media campaigns, high-profile resignations, and lawsuits.
“It’s very grassroots,” said Vera Zlidar, a furloughed contractor for the USAID agency, which has been gutted in Musk’s campaign. “The work that we do touches so many facets of people’s lives,” she said. Social media pages, message boards, and websites have proliferated with thousands of followers, aimed at mobilizing resistance, as well as sharing how the cuts will impact everyday Americans. The Senate protests vary in size but have turned into a daily event. “We have to save ourselves,” said one federal worker and protest organizer, again asking not to be identified.
Some federal workers have protested by resigning. This week, roughly a third of technology staffers at Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) quit, saying that they would not work in a way that puts the country at risk. Before the approximately 20 staffers left DOGE, federal employees had created a website called “We Are the Builders” to share stories of the impact of DOGE actions, arguing that it was crippling agencies’ abilities to provide crucial services.
Part of the group’s logo is a spoon — a symbol now used by federal workers to protest Musk’s cuts, referencing an email from the tech entrepreneur’s team titled “Fork in the Road,” in which government employees were given an offer to leave with eight months’ pay or risk being fired in the future. US media reported instances of federal workers flooding work message groups with spoon emojis to troll Musk lieutenants or adding the cutlery symbol to their work online profiles. Dozens of lawsuits have also sprouted against Musk’s threats or demands, with mixed results.
The largest federal employee union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), has vowed to challenge unlawful terminations, calling Musk “unhinged.” Republican congress members, who control both the House and the Senate, are unanimously loyal to Trump. However, tension over Musk’s rampage is growing in areas of the party. A February Washington Post-Ipsos poll showed dislike of Musk’s approach to shrinking the federal workforce.
But Musk and the White House have been unmoved. The richest person on Earth has posted a slew of messages on his X platform disparaging federal workers and sharing polls by his own America PAC — a political action committee he founded to support Trump — saying DOGE “is one of the most popular parts” of the president’s agenda. The protester organizer said pressure is bound to grow as more agencies come under Musk’s knife and thousands of out-of-work civil servants find themselves ejected. “Free time is their superpower,” the organizer said.
© 2024 AFP
