Posted on 02/11/25
| News Source: Maryland Matters
Annapolis, MD - Feb. 11, 2025 - Thousands of people tuned in to virtual town halls with members of Maryland’s congressional delegation last week, seeking answers to lingering questions about the flurry of changes to the federal workforce.
A Thursday night meeting by Reps. Glenn Ivey (D-4th) and Steny Hoyer (D-5th) was originally to be held on Zoom, but was expanded to the phone because of increased interest. Ivey said more than 14,000 people participated.
Hundreds more attended an Instagram live virtual meeting on Friday afternoon with Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd), seeking answers to questions about the government’s deferred resignation offer and other changes to federal agencies.
The meetings came after a federal judge Thursday temporarily paused President Donald Trump’s plan to reshape the federal workforce by offering deferred resignations. During Thursday’s call, the lawmakers said because the government is only funded through the middle of March, it’s unclear whether the offer will even be honored.
“The actions Trump and (Elon) Musk have taken to vilify and terrorize our federal workers are illegal,” Hoyer said. “They are incoherent, they are demeaning, and they ignore the very negative consequences for our nation.”
The group fielded presubmitted questions from workers concerned about their futures. They ranged from what Congress is doing to intervene to whether it’s too late for some eligible federal workers to join unions.
“Congress may not have standing to sue, but we will urge people to take this issue to court, and that’s what’s been happening, and we have been urging that to happen,” Hoyer said, referring to the series of lawsuits in response to changes to the federal workforce and agencies.
Rob Shriver, the former head of the Office of Personnel Management, said workers are being asked to sign an agreement “that has language in it that tells you that you can’t enforce it.” The congressmen said they’re encouraging workers not to accept it.
US Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th). Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
Anyone who works for a Title V agency, Shriver said, can file an appeal with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. Shriver, who now works with the group Democracy Forward, said they’re also filing lawsuits in response to some of the executive actions.
Those suits, Hoyer said, “are essentially class-action suits, and everybody in the class are those who are being adversely affected by these rules and requests and paper that is being sent to people almost every day with, frankly, a lot of misinformation.”
Ivey said because Democrats are down three votes in the House of Representatives, they’re looking to find Republicans they can persuade to support their causes “that are in districts that [Democratic presidential nominee Kamala] Harris won. The idea is to push forward with some of these issues, like ones that are in court, but to force them to make tough decisions and then have their constituents in their districts push them to change and vote with us when the time comes.”
He added that about 80% of federal employees live outside the D.C. region.
At the Elfreth event, Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the union is urging federal workers to take action. The group represents thousands of employees, including those who work for the Department of Defense, U.S. Naval Academy, Education Department, Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency, among others.
They’re asking “federal workers not to quit, to reject the crooked and corrupt and degrading deal from Musk and Trump, because that’s exactly what I feel like,” Kelley said. “We ask you to take to social media — explain and defend the critical work the federal workers do.”
The union, Kelley said, is suing to stop the administration’s “Schedule F scheme to replace nonpartisan workers with unqualified political loyalists.” He’s encouraged workers to consider submitting briefs in support of lawsuits that have already been filed.
Kelley also recommended spreading the message in their neighborhood or religious circles about the challenges federal workers are currently facing.
US Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd). Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
“Tell your friends,” Kelley said. “Tell your family about the issues that federal employees are dealing with and how it will affect America if these jobs are cut out.”
Meanwhile, Elfreth said for members of Maryland and Virginia’s congressional delegations, “this is a priority. We’re meeting about it, talking about it every single day.”
Elfreth said her office had received 1,000 calls between Monday and Thursday morning from concerned constituents.
“There’s been a lot of anxiety and chaos brought on by President Trump and Elon Musk’s ‘fork in the road’ email, challenges to Schedule F,” Elfreth said.
Kelley warned about the consequences of many federal workers accepting the deferred resignation offer.
“If there is no one to process the VA claims, what’s going to happen with the veterans?” Kelley asked. “If there’s nobody there to make sure that the food supply is healthy, what’s going to happen to all of us?”
If there aren’t enough TSA workers, Kelley said, “We’ll see another 9/11. We can’t afford that.”