Maryland’s Democratic members of Congress called the ongoing mass layoffs of federal workers a “witch hunt” and said the White House and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency are committing illegal acts in carrying out the firings.
Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, along with Rep. Jamie Raskin, held a town hall in support of federal workers and others affected by the current administration’s decision Wednesday evening in Silver Spring.
“All of us recognize that we face a clear and present danger in our country right now, a clear and present danger to our Constitution, to the rule of law, and to other things that we hold dear in this country, and we stand together in saying that we will fight this illegal Elon Musk takeover,” Van Hollen said.
It’s not clear how many have been involved in workforce cuts so far, but Maryland is home to over 160,000 federal employees and the local economy relies heavily on federal contracts. All three congressional delegates at this week’s town hall provided a statement before taking questions from the crowd of hundreds of civil servants.
Alsobrooks called the layoffs an attack not only on federal workers, but those that they serve.
“It really is a witch hunt that is happening regarding our federal workers,” Alsobrooks said. “We’re going to fight for as long as it takes to ensure that we protect our country, that we protect democracy.”
One woman who declined to give her name identified as a single mother of three. She thanked the representatives on stage for speaking out against the firings, but questioned why others in Congress have not done the same.
“Why don’t I hear mention of aggressive legislative obstruction,” she said. “What can we do to convey to the rest of the Democratic congresspeople that we demand action?”
The question was met with supportive applause in the crowd. Alsobrooks agreed that more can be done.
“I don’t want you to feel for a moment [that we don’t care],” Alsobrooks said. “I’m there with them every day … at least on the Senate side … there are many of us who are out and about. We are going out to the demonstrations.”
Unions for federal workers have filed various lawsuits seeking to block the mass firings of probationary federal employees by DOGE. At Wednesday’s town hall, Van Hollen called the firings illegal.
“In order to be fired by the federal government as a probationary employee, it has to be for performance reasons, for misconduct … that was not what [DOGE] did,” Sen. Van Hollen said. “They absolutely lied … I was at the NIH rally … and there was a woman who was let go as a probationary employee from NIH who had a 25 out of 25 performance score on her last performance rating and had glowing recommendations from those people. That’s illegal firing, and so that will go to the courts.”
Still, many of the civil servants in attendance expressed ongoing fear. One speaker, who said she was recently laid off, asked what she and others can do in the meantime while cases play out in court.
Van Hollen pointed to Maryland’s state website, where they’re compiling a list of resources for anyone affected by the layoffs.
“When people get laid off, they should know No. 1, we are going to fight to get them fully reinstated with all their protection,” Sen. Van Hollen said. “It is a terrible thing that we cannot get swifter justice here. But I do want people to know we are fighting … to try to make sure that justice is done.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
