DENVER — Mass layoffs by the Trump administration have left Colorado federal workers, as well as Coloradans who rely on federal programs, in limbo.
Lost in a sea of protesters at the Colorado State Capitol on Monday were former federal workers who had just been laid off. Most didn’t want to speak on camera due to fears of retaliation, but Leah McGovern said staying silent comes at a cost.
“I mean, frankly, I’m scared,” said McGovern. “But I think it's more important for us to fight for what's right in this country right now than be fearful.”
McGovern worked for a U.S. Department of Energy field office in Golden, helping with green hydrogen projects. She learned that she had been laid off on Thursday.
“My supervisors called me crying and they were not informed that they were going to be laying us off that day,” said McGovern. “And then at 7:00 pm, I got a letter along with many other people stating I was terminated because it was no longer in the interest of, I’m not sure who, but those were the words.”
Colorado is home to nearly 40,000 civilian federal workers. McGovern said many of her colleagues have been anxious for their future.
“It's been really scary for the last four weeks. A lot of people have been very worried about their jobs,” she said.
Denise Maes, a former regional administrator for the Government Services Administration (GSA), echoed those sentiments.
"They're stressed, they're miserable, they're sad," said Maes. “What does that do to performance? To have a constant threat that you're either gonna be fired or you can take a buyout. Nobody knows that that buyout offer is even legal or has any legality supporting it. So, there's a lot of confusion. There's a lot of mistrust. It's just creating chaos for no good end.”
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management said the layoffs are part of President Donald Trump’s “broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people.”
Joelle Brouner said federal workers, like those who work for Medicaid, make it possible for people like her to get the services they need.
“I feel so much for the federal workers,” said Brouner. “Because I think that federal work and government work is about choosing to serve our neighbors.”
Brouner said Medicaid paid for her wheelchair and home health care.
“I'm talking about going to the toilet. I'm talking about getting dressed, I'm talking about getting clean, getting your body clean, getting groomed,” said Brouner. “Those things are not optional. They're not extra, and they're not wasteful.”
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The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an office headed by Elon Musk, has been meeting with leaders at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this month. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Musk’s team has gotten access to the CMS's payment systems.
“Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening,” Musk said in a post on X, responding to the Wall Street Journal story.
McGovern, who moved to Colorado for her job at the Department of Energy field office, plans to return to New England and look for another job.
"I am fearful of how the [job] market is going to be in the next few months or years," she said. "I think it's gonna be very oversaturated with a lot of highly qualified people who did not deserve this."
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