WTOP heard from several D.C.-area residents who lost their jobs just before completing their probationary periods and securing more job protections.
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Some of the federal employees who were fired in recent days were just shy of completing their probationary periods and securing more job protections.
WTOP heard from several former federal employees as the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, continues to reshape the federal workforce.
‘I am not going to go quietly’: Woman loses HHS position
Rachel, who only wanted to use her first name, has had a long career as a health care IT professional.
She transitioned into the federal government less than a year ago to work for the Department of Health and Human Services supporting Medicare and Medicaid services.
Rachel got a notice Sunday morning that she was being placed on administrative leave with full termination in a month.
She would have reached her one-year anniversary on the job March 24, completing her probationary period.
“My husband is 100% disabled, an Army combat veteran,” she told WTOP. “I have two special needs children. I am the predominate breadwinner.”
“One of the things that the RIF (Reduction in Force) letter that I received via email states for instance is performance,” she said.
“It’s boilerplate. Everybody that I know received the same notice with the exact same language.”
Rachel said she has had positive employment reviews in her time at HHS. Poor performance is cited as the reason for dismissal for most, if not all, of the recent firings.
Rachel believes that is because DOGE wants to have a reason other than simply being a probationary employee as the reason for the firing.
“They’re hoping most people will go quietly,” she said. “I am not young in my career. I am an experienced professional. And so I am not going to go quietly.”
Disabled Army veteran says losing job was ‘almost a sense of betrayal’
Jason King, a disabled Army veteran, was terminated just before the end of his probationary period at the Federal Aviation Administration. King served as a data analyst and assisted the director of safety for the agency.
He received an email that said he was being let go for performance reasons.
“It was total shock, total surprise. Almost a sense of betrayal,” he told WTOP.
King said he thought his job was safe because of his military service and background as well as the importance his position played in public safety.
“Being a disabled veteran, I also thought I’d be exempt from those types of actions,” he said.
He said he wants the public to know about the dangers of terminating federal employees — particularly those who work in public safety.
“The recent plane crash in D.C. reflects upon the dangers of a weakened safety infrastructure,” he said.
“Every lost position translates to a weaker FAA. And every budget driven decision that compromises safety is a decision that puts another life at risk.”
He spoke directly to DOGE administrators to reconsider these firings, especially for those whose positions influence public safety.
Impacts throughout the federal workforce
Two women, who spoke to WTOP on the condition of anonymity for fear of being retaliated against, spoke about their situations.
One, a soon to be ex-employee of HHS, said she was notified Friday that she was being placed on administrative leave for 30 days — and then terminated.
“I think there’s a lot of fear,” she said. “Clearly, I’m terrified to do this interview, but I think it’s important to be heard.”
She had been a probationary HHS employee since September.
“A lot of us had somewhat prepared for this, given what has been in the news that this was coming,” she said. “It’s just the emotional roller coaster that led up to the actual notification.”
She said the whole purge does not seem to have method or reason. She also thinks it is illegal.
Another woman, who said she had gotten an offer to be a deputy director of cybersecurity at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said her job was eliminated after even agreeing to a start date: Feb. 10.
The job was posted last March. She expressed interest in it and began a series of interviews and background checks that took months to complete.
Ultimately, she was offered the job last year. But then didn’t hear anything else from the agency.
“So I wrote to them, and I said, ‘Hey, what’s happening? I haven’t heard anything,’” she said. “That’s when HR wrote back and said, ‘Sorry, the position is on hold.’”
Ultimately, the position was eliminated.
Good news for her, however. She was able to return to her former contracting firm, but only after resigning and moving from California to take the government job.
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