Hundreds protest Trump cuts to science research in New York City
Hundreds of people joined a “Stand Up for Science” demonstration in New York City to condemn the Trump administration’s dismantling of federally funded science research.
WASHINGTON ‒ Allie Mitchell never saw herself as the protesting type.
But for the past three Tuesdays and again this week, she’s among hundreds of former federal workers who have gathered on Capitol Hill holding placards and trying to get the attention of both passersby and members of congress.
Mitchell, who has been protesting in between job hunting, said people need to know that cutting the federal workforce has real consequences for all Americans. “If there are no employees or staffers, the work simply stops,” she said.
Protesters like Mitchell are frustrated by their abrupt firing, which the government claims was for poor performance despite stellar records full of accolades. They feel rudderless after their normal route for appealing a firing was himself laid off by President Donald Trump. Some haven’t received the necessary documents to apply for unemployment, and their former supervisors are unable to answer their questions.
They have held signs saying “Save the Country, Save the Civil Services” and “Justice Takes Action: Standing up for Our Rights!” They have crowded offices of members of congress, hoping to put names and faces to those indiscriminately terminated from their federal jobs. Others have spoken at massive rallies outside federal buildings in Washington.
President Trump has moved swiftly to reduce the size of the federal government, the nation’s largest employer. He believes the move will slash wasteful spending and has described the federal government as “bloated” and with “people who are unnecessary.”
Grassroots demonstrators, coordinated by several groups, disagree, and intend to keep showing up week after week, organizers said. Some ex-federal workers have also filed class action complaints, arguing that the mass terminations are illegal and they should get their jobs back.
“I didn’t really expect to do this,” said Mitchell, 30, a former research supervisor at the National Institute on Aging. “I never thought I’d have to go to my Senators’ offices and say ‘I got fired. What are you going to do for me?’”
Sydney Smith, who was fired as an accountant for the U.S. Forest Service, has also been among the protesters, and intended to march again at the Capitol Tuesday before catching a bad cold. She wants to convince lawmakers that the firings are wrong and that the consequences will have a huge impact on the country.
Smith, who lives about a mile from the Capitol, said she feels obligated to speak up for former colleagues who don’t live close enough to protest.
“I’m an accountant, not a public comms person or a lobbyist,” Smith said. “I would like to go back to the work I was doing. But, I can speak for them. I have free speech.”
Seeking face-to-face meetings with Senators
Since 2023, Smith, 28, had been a probationary employee in the Forest Service as part of the Presidential Management Fellows Program, a pipeline to the federal workforce. Smith was expected to get a permanent position in September until she was let go last month.
As a backpacker who loves the outdoors, Smith admitted she was overwhelmed when she first entered the Capitol complex two weeks ago. She described it as a “maze.”
“The Capitol complex is very intimidating, like I feel it’s not really for private citizens to be in, but then again, all of our taxpayer dollars are paying for these buildings,” Smith said. “And we deserve to be heard.”
Surrounded by hordes of media, the former fed workers broke off into small groups and began knocking on the doors of several senators’ offices. Smith said their common theme was that these moves reduce the U.S.’s presence as a global leader in many areas and open the doors for other countries to step in.
Later, she broke down in front of TV cameras and reporters when asked why she was there.
“I want to say to them, ‘Hey, you’re dismantling our civil service that is supposed to be merit-based and nonpartisan,'” Smith recalled. “We are hard-working people who earned our jobs, not some political hacks.”
With less media around, Smith called last week’s visit to the Hill more productive and less intimidating. Her group, consisting of 10 ex-federal workers, spoke with staffers from the offices of Senators Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and Tim Kaine, D-Va.
“We’re trying to find different means of communicating with the Senate and legislative staff who may not have a lot of time. They are in a precarious situation, so we have to really get our points across,” Smith said. “Many of us are sending emails and creatively trying to get their attention as things are so dire and urgent.
“Because if we can’t get a meeting with them,” Smith said. “Then how can we be heard?”
‘We can’t stay quiet’
Chris Wicker agrees. Fired from his job as Minnesota’s Small Business Administration Deputy Director, Wicker feels compelled to speak up for the former federal workers who can’t. He attended President Trump’s speech to Congress last week as a guest of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
“There are a lot of fired federal workers who got immediate termination notices, with no warning, no severance. A lot of people I know are trying to figure out how they’re going to pay their rent, how they’re going to feed their kids, how they’re going to be a functioning member of their family,” Wicker said. “I’m in a unique position ‒ I’m in a dual-income household. My son is in the Army, so he doesn’t live at home anymore. That gives me the time and capacity to go out and speak on behalf of people who need to focus on taking care of their families and communities right now.”
He said he’s taking every opportunity to speak with as many people as possible, including giving interviews alongside Omar.
“We can’t stay quiet ‒ because at the end of the day, this is about common sense. And I’ll stop yelling about this when I start seeing some common sense,” he said.
Ex-fed worker wonders if lawmakers ‘care enough to do something?’
It still hasn’t sunk in for Mitchell that she no longer has a job.
For five years, Mitchell worked her way up from a contract employee, where she conducted research and advised on initiatives for Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementia research, to a supervisory position. It’s an issue she cares deeply about, in part because her own grandmother has the disease.
On Feb. 25, Mitchell joined other fired federal employees on Capitol Hill. They knocked on the doors of Senate offices. Of those aides who answered, Mitchell said some listened, nodded and took notes. Some didn’t.
“We all had separate causes that are near and dear to our hearts,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell asked the staff of Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, if they would at least talk to their constituents to see what they think about the firings. She said they told her to email them.
Mitchell told staffers in Sen. Ted Cruz’ office that his state of Texas has nearly a half million residents with Alzheimer’s. “You may not be directly impacted by it, but you likely know somebody who’s affected by it,” Mitchell said.
She delivered a similar message to a top staffer at Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner’s office. Mitchell felt compelled to stop by there because she studied neuroscience and biology at the University of Virginia and Warner is the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease.
“I hope they heard us, person to person, human to human,” Mitchell said. “We told them we were all federal workers just like you guys, but in a different field.”
Otherwise, Mitchell describes herself as a reluctant activist.
“I just want to ask them if they care enough to do something,” Mitchell said.
Tiffany Montes is also wondering. She worked at the Interior Department’s National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center in Frederick, Maryland. She’s getting married next month and struggling with the uncertainty of how to pay rent and the light bill.
Still, she said that can’t keep her from speaking out.
“I have the time now. I have so much time ‒ because I was fired. And I will speak to anyone who will listen,” she said.
Since being laid off, Montes has spoken at rallies, which she confesses pushed her out of her comfort zone.
“I am ready to keep talking. I am ready to fight back. I’m ready to educate people on what’s happening. I have a voice, and I want to be heard ‒ not just for myself, but for all of my fellow terminated federal workers,” Montes said.