“It isn’t easy to fire federal employees,” her co-worker told her. A Customs and Border Protection employee, unable to locate a federal office building, started driving to an international airport that ran flights only on weekends. Within two months, as Musk fell out with Trump and prepared to leave the government, most agencies reversed course and told employees to ignore the emails. In the Oval Office, Trump said he’d fired “people that the Democrats want.” The reductions in force targeted staff who regulated hazardous waste, checked the quality of federal housing and assisted students with disabilities. The Trump administration had stalled all his lawsuits and barred officials at his agency from speaking any language that wasn’t English.

Source: Washington Post December 21, 2025 19:01 UTC