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The auditorium at Greenbelt Middle School in Prince George’s County, Maryland was packed with nearly 1,000 people on Saturday morning, as a public service summit brought together current and former federal workers and contractors — all of whom were looking for answers.
The event was cohosted by Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Democrat representing Maryland’s 4th District, and his wife, Prince George’s County Council Chair Jolene Ivey. Panelists answering audience questions included former Office of Personnel Management Director Rob Shriver, who is now a part of advocacy group Democracy Forward, and Washington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary.
During the forum, a federal employee named Julia asked why more isn’t being done to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from cutting federal jobs.
“They’re launching missiles and we’re throwing back rocks,” Julia told WTOP. “We don’t know what’s going on. I had to come here today to get an update of what’s really happening.”
Tom Lamont, who has worked at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the past 15 years, also spoke to the panel.
Recently, Lamont received an email letting him know that on Tuesday, March 5, his contract will be terminated. Lamont told WTOP that since he was a contractor — not a federal employee — he was not eligible for unemployment insurance.
Lamont, who is a few years away from retirement, said he is looking toward his next chapter in life, and asked the local officials at the summit not to forget about federal contractors.
There was some hope to be found at the summit: Gwendolyn Dennis accompanied her nephew to with the hopes of helping him find work.
“He had just put in his application to www.usajobs.gov and it was rejected,” said Dennis. “He is seeking a teaching position.” Attending the summit “gave him hope, and I think he has found a place he can go,” Dennis added.
Ivey said he is hearing a lot from federal employees living in Prince George’s County.
“A lot of distress, a lot of confusion, a lot of disgust and rightly so,” he told WTOP. “We are advising people of their rights so they understand what protections that they have and they can assert those.”
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