Maryland’s two U.S. senators hosted a telephone town hall meeting Wednesday night for residents concerned about recent moves by the Trump administration, including cuts to programs and grants and steps to reduce the federal workforce and shutter some agencies.
The town hall comes as federal workers at several agencies found themselves being kept out of their offices and told to cease their work.
The administration also made “deferred resignation” offers to federal workers, which after a temporary hold, a federal judge allowed to move forward.
The Trump administration also announced an executive order which puts restrictions on the hiring of federal workers, which includes a need for approval of almost all new hires by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by the president’s senior adviser, Elon Musk.
Agencies must also limit hires to one new hire for every four employees in that department, in most situations.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen called the actions being taken by the Trump team, including Musk, “illegal” and said the nation is “experiencing a constitutional crisis.”
“We need to fight it on every front. We need to fight it in the courts, we need to fight it in Congress, we need to fight it in the court of public opinion, and we are doing all three of those things,” Van Hollen said.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said the actions, among them furloughs and layoffs, have left many Marylanders feeling “confused and fearful.”
“I think unfortunately, that really is the point of this administration is to really spread chaos and confusion to demoralize and denigrate our really amazing civil servants who serve this government,” Alsobrooks said.
One federal worker from Bowie, who only shared her first name, Tamika, said her concern is for her colleagues, who are considering the deferred resignation offer.
“I’m concerned about my coworkers who have taken this deal which has not been funded by Congress,” Tamika said.
Rob Shriver of Democracy Forward, an organization that has filed lawsuits over several of the Trump administration’s actions, said he shares Tamika’s concerns.
“I have continued questions about funding, especially given that we’re under a continuing resolution about the underlying legal authority, and also about the very broad waiver that it appears that federal employees who accept this deal will be asked to sign, which seems to indicate that you would waive any and all claims you might have arising out of your employment, including a claim to enforce the very agreement that they’re asking you to sign,” Shriver said.
Are you a federal employee who has been impacted by the deferred resignations? Send us a message through the WTOP News app, available on Apple or Android. Click the “Feedback” button in the app’s navigation bar.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Musk defended the actions being taken, claiming there needs to be more accountability in the federal workforce.
Musk claimed his DOGE team has found “shocking” evidence of wasteful and questionable spending by some agencies. President Donald Trump said what has been discovered amounts to “billions of dollars of abuse, incompetence and corruption.”
Erica from Oxon Hill, Maryland, said she is a federal worker who worked at the EPA, connecting communities to resources on environmental issues. She said she has been put on administrative leave by the organization.
“I feel like my legs were just cut off, and because they don’t understand what environmental justice is,” Erica said.
Another caller to the town hall, Rosemary from Baltimore City, said she lives off social security payments and expressed fears social security payments could become a future target of cost-cutting.
“This is all we live off of. You know, this is our lifeline. What happens? You know, if they would manage to do that. What recourse would seniors have right now?” Rosemary said.
The senators said they are watching closely for any actions that might be taken in regard to social security.
“We are going to do everything we can to reverse these really, really egregious actions that they are taking,” Van Hollen said.
Another caller, a retired government worker, said he was worried about whether the changes could impact his retirement. Both senators said it was “unlikely” that changes would impact the benefits retirees receive.
In all, Alsbrooks said she believes some of the lawsuits that have been filed over the actions will be successful.
“I’m convinced it’s only a matter of time before some of these efforts collapse on themselves,” Alsobrooks said.
