President Trump’s latest executive actions are taking a serious toll on federal agencies. As part of his efforts to shrink the government, his administration has already laid off around 5,200 workers from major public health and science offices, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
One of those affected is Ashley, a former NIH employee who’s asked us not to use her last name for fear of retaliation for speaking out. She was visiting family out of state when she received an email notifying her that she was being terminated from her role in the communications department at an NIH office dedicated to researching a major global health concern.
Some conservatives argue that trimming the federal workforce makes the government more efficient and saves money, but Ashley is worried about what these cuts could mean for public health down the road. At NIH, the offices that handle research grants for universities and medical centers have taken a big hit: The agency spends most of its $48 billion annual budget on “extramural” research, which helps fund breakthroughs in treating diseases like cancer and heart disease via the work of outside institutions, but the government officials who distribute that funding have now been let go.
In this interview, Ashley opens up about her experience and the impact these cuts could have on the future of medical research.
Katie Couric Media: I can only imagine how challenging this time must be for federal workers facing layoffs. How are you holding up?
Ashley: This is my first time being laid off, and I expected to be sad about it, but I’m really more angry. That is my chief emotion because of how everything played out and how so many public servants were yanked around.
Soon after Trump was inaugurated, all federal employees received an email from OPM, the Office of Personal Management. The subject line said “Fork in the Road,” which coincidentally or not was the same subject line that Elon Musk used when giving a similar ultimatum to his Twitter employees when he took over Twitter a couple of years ago. But basically, the one we got encouraged us to resign and said we would receive pay and benefits until the end of the fiscal year. I initially thought it was a scam because it was from this random email address from OPM that I didn’t recognize, and it was not a very well-written email. I was like, “Did a high schooler write this?” It was so sketchy.
We kept getting more emails from this random OPM email address with more information. They were like, “Here’s a FAQ,” and “We want people to quit their low-productivity federal jobs and join a high-productivity job in the private sector.” It was just so pedantic and talked down to these people who have had lifelong careers in the government.
Like my colleagues, I knew that my name was on some mystery list somewhere, but we didn’t know what was being done with it. And then finally, fast forward to this past Friday, I logged on in the morning. I had my regular Friday check-in with my manager. I logged on to the team’s call, and my manager and her supervisor were there, and they were both crying. They said, “Ashley, we’re so sorry. We’ve been trying to fight this, but today’s the day you’ll get the letter.”
So, seeing both supervisors crying and telling me they couldn’t do anything about it was horrible. But still, all day Friday there were conflicting messages of who the letter was coming from and when it would come. We were first told it would come at 4 p.m., so everyone was sitting there checking our email and looking for this termination letter. Eventually, around 7 p.m., there was an email from someone higher up at NIH saying that Health and Human Services is still writing this letter and figuring if everyone on the list is correct and the letters will be coming, but we have no idea when they’re coming.
The next day, I got on a plane for a planned family trip, and once I landed, I started getting texts from all my colleagues saying, “Check your work email; the letter’s there.” Then, at 9 p.m., I logged onto my work email in front of my extended family and read everyone my termination letter. Some voted for Trump, and others didn’t, so it was a really weird vibe.
As you’ve mentioned, you were part of the probationary period layoffs. How did your Schedule A status impact your situation compared to other employees?
I joined NIH as a contractor in 2022. Eventually, someone from my previous team moved to a different agency, and a spot opened up. So, I was hired on as a federal employee. When you’re hired as a fed, you have some choices to make initially.
I have a disability, so I applied under Schedule A, which would give me further protection against discrimination in the workforce. For example, for someone who has chronic depression, it’s something that they can note under Schedule A, so that if all of a sudden they have a depressive episode and their performance is suffering, there’s a record of that being on file so that you can’t just be indiscriminately fired.
Schedule A employees also have a two-year probationary period, unlike most federal employees, who typically serve a one-year probation from their hire date. During this time, they are considered full-time federal employees, but it serves as a trial period to assess their performance and suitability for the role.
Some people, like one of my colleagues, also worked in the federal government for a long time but switched agencies. And when you switch agencies, you are sent back into a probationary period. So there are many cases where people will get a promotion, and because you switch grade levels, you’re in a probationary period again. It seems like [the Trump administration] is just cutting the newest people to be hired, but that’s not always the case.
At the time of my firing, I had seven months left on my probationary period, and I had consistently documented high performance since then. However, I was still able to be fired under the guise of poor performance, even though there was no proof of that anywhere.
Can you share more about how the rest of your team was affected by these firings?
Unfortunately, most of the people fired from my office this weekend were from the policy and communications team, leaving us gutted. It was especially disheartening because we had just finished hiring to fill a vacant position at the end of last year. It finally felt like we were gaining momentum — we were completely redesigning our website and had so many plans in motion. Losing that progress has been tough.
Adding to the upheaval, our director — who was only hired a few months ago — was also fired this weekend. That was a huge blow. However, I’ve heard from colleagues that she was reinstated, which is surprising given she was still in her probationary period. It seems directors have a different set of rules.
Despite everything, the office will continue fulfilling its congressionally mandated duties. However, I worry that the biggest loss will be in our ability to engage with the community and advocate for people living with disease. That’s the work that truly matters, and it’s heartbreaking to think it may suffer the most.
Are you planning to challenge your termination?
I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do yet. I’ve been in contact with a couple of different attorneys that are setting up class-action lawsuits. But I was also warned that since I have a unique situation with the Schedule A probationary problem, it might benefit me to go with a lawyer that I pay, but with what money? I don’t have a job anymore.
There are many options, but there’s also a lot of uncertainty. I’m in several group chats with people in my position, and we’re throwing ideas around, not really sure what to do.
For those who support or even praise these massive cuts to the federal workforce, why should we as Americans be concerned about the long-term impacts on essential services and the public good?
Americans should be concerned about this because it’s very clear that the Trump administration wants to cut government costs. However, these cuts were not discretionary at all; they were just a blanket firing of everyone on probationary status at the NIH. That means that people who work in clinical centers, like nurses or scientists doing cancer research, were cut without any regard for what that would mean for the people that they serve.
Unfortunately, the people who will feel the impact the most are those who are already vulnerable — low-income individuals, people with disabilities, veterans, minorities, and anyone relying on food assistance. These processes are likely to slow down significantly or even come to a halt.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
