Trump Is Using The Shutdown To 'Terrorize' Federal Workers, Democrats Say

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Huff Post

Oct 14, 2025, 06:05 PM EDT


Congressional Democrats rallied outside the White House on Tuesday to defend furloughed federal workers who were ostensibly laid off by the Trump administration late last week amid the government shutdown.

A dozen lawmakers representing Maryland and Virginia — two states with a large federal workforce — described the “reductions in force,” or RIFs, as the latest bit of mean-spirited and legally dubious management coming from Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought.

“Donald Trump and Russ Vought and all their cronies are using this moment to terrorize these patriotic employees,” said Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, with a group of federal workers standing behind him.

“Firing and threatening to fire federal employees is part of the Trump administration’s campaign to inflict trauma on our federal workers. ‘Trauma’ is not my word,” he added, noting that Vought himself once used the term to describe his goal for civil servants.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-shutdown-terrorize-federal-workers_n_68eea59be4b058bb20d46163

[slightlv]

1. Wasn't it Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes

who screamed "Damn them all to hell!" I think he echos my sentiment and the rage I feel right now. NO employer should be able to create such a hostile work environment, and most don't get away with it... at least, up until now. Federal workers have given up a lot of money. At one time, it was compensated for by benefits. Slowly those benefits were eroded over time... rewritten, or thrown out and replaced (as in Fed Pension vs 401ks, for example). And then first Bush and now Trump are making sure they rip the rest of the benefits away, making anyone who signs up now (if they can) a fool. Someday, maybe it'll be worth it again... but it's going to take as long to win back people to working for the government as it's gonna take for the rest of the world to ever take us seriously again.

As a 20+ year veteran of Federal Service... both GS and contract at different times, I can't tell you how much it hurts me knowing what he's doing not only to our country, our government, our democracy... but also what he's doing every single day to the government workers, both directly and indirectly. And yet still they carry on the best they can. Once trump is gone and democrats are back in charge once again, every single one of these fed workers should be afforded PTSD benefits... counseling, therapy animals, whatever they need. Hell, I think ALL of us need to be afforded these benefits after living under this misrule for all these years... and that includes the years he was out of "office" but not out of the news... not ever, not even one single day. My blood pressure and my number of anti-anxiety meds are a testament to how he's affected so many of us.