On Monday, a significant number of federal employees in the Seattle region are set to gather in protest against President Donald Trump’s initiatives aimed at reducing the federal workforce. This rally follows the administration’s decision to terminate over 10,000 federal employees from various agencies—a strategy that has been in motion since Trump took office.
The impact of these job cuts is being felt nationwide, leaving many Seattle workers unsettled ahead of a Presidents Day demonstration aimed at protecting civil services they believe are under siege by the current administration. Participants in the rally will include employees from the Environmental Protection Agency, which is tasked with safeguarding drinking water, as well as representatives from the Veterans Administration, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Federal Aviation Administration, among others.
Washington state has a history of dealing with wildfires, and critics of the proposed cuts warn that reducing staff could jeopardize crucial wildfire management efforts. Last week, the National Federation of Federal Employees initiated legal action in response to the layoffs.
Other agencies facing potential staffing reductions include the Department of Education, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Democratic Senator Patty Murray expressed disapproval of the layoffs, arguing that they fail to tackle issues of fraud or waste and instead harm top performers and the next wave of talent within the federal workforce.
In contrast, Republican lawmakers contend that while job losses are unfortunate, the nation’s burgeoning debt poses a serious threat to national security. The employees most at risk of being laid off are those on probationary status or recent hires.
