FEBRUARY 27, 2025
Federal workers speak on doge layoffs, cuts.
The Social Security Administration eliminated its Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the Social Security Administration said 140 workers in the Civil Rights Office were put on administrative leave.
Emotions were mixed as federal employees talked about President Donald Trump’s executive orders and cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency.
“People are actually panicked,” a federal worker said. “They are in distress, psychological breaking points, and this is serious.”
“I’m going to do whatever it takes to find another job and make ends meet,” said one federal worker said.
According to the SSA website, the now-disbanded office, “provided overall management of the SSA-wide programs of civil rights, equal employment opportunity, harassment prevention, reasonable accommodations, and disability services.”
“This is just another example of executive overreach of trying to bar employees that serve the public — and we all serve the public — from going somewhere if they feel like they are in a hostile work environment. Now, employees don’t have anywhere to go,” said a federal worker.
In a statement, Acting Social Security Commissioner Lee Dudek said:
“Our focus is supporting President Trump’s priorities, which include streamlining functions and prioritizing essential work. Terminating the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, and reassigning statutory responsibilities performed by this office, advances the President’s goal to make all of government more efficient in serving the American public.”
“The only liberating thing about it is you won’t be in that negative environment where you are constantly wondering when the next shoe is going to drop,” a federal worker said.
“These cuts hurt the very people that put this administration in power,” another federal worker said. “I want people to understand that.”
Courtesy/Source: WBAL TV BALTIMORE
