Chicago area federal workers on edge as Trump guts agencies: ‘It’s devastating’

Less than four weeks under President Donald Trump’s administration have felt like a lifetime for one Chicago area health care provider for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

First, it was the nightly barrage of emails from federal Office of Personnel Management leaders urging as many employees as possible to leave their jobs under a deferred resignation.

Then, most VA employees were barred from the buyout program, but still ordered to return to the office — despite a lack of space for many workers across the Chicago area who have been remote since being hired early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

And capping weeks of uncertainty was Thursday’s mass layoff of 1,000 probationary VA employees nationwide, a harbinger of upheaval to come under Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s campaign to drastically downsize the federal workforce.

“This is the most stressed I have ever felt in my life,” said the VA health care provider, who has worked at Chicago area clinics for over a decade. “It’s one thing to think you might lose your job. It’s another thing to feel like you’re being hunted and targeted.”

To read the full report, visit chicago.suntimes.com.