STORY: Mass rally in Washington against federal staff firing
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 19, 2025
DATELINE: Feb. 22, 2025
LENGTH: 00:04:08
LOCATION: Washington D.C.
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JACK BORDIC, Advocate for federal employees at American Civil Liberties Union
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DIANE CUPELIAN, Retired psychologist
3. various of the protest at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters (Feb. 19, 2025)
4. various of the protest at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters, with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts attending the event (Feb. 10, 2025)

STORYLINE:

"Where is Congress? Do your job!" Protestors chanted outside the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters Wednesday, opposing mass firings of federal servants.

Braving freezing temperatures, protestors gathered with signs bearing messages such as "Save Our Services." Speakers at the rally encouraged those impacted by the firings to reach out to their congressmen and make their voices heard.

Jack Bordic, who has been advocating for federal employees at the American Civil Liberties Union, told Xinhua at the rally that the National Institute of Health (NIH) suffered a "massive" impact from the firings.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JACK BORDIC, Advocate for federal employees at American Civil Liberties Union
"I've probably talked to around 10 or 15 NIH workers in the span of my job, which has been only around a month. But I would say out of 15, around 10 have been fired. They're stunting the ability of Americans to research cancer research and find different tools for cancer research. So that's going to impact our health care system. We're trying to pressure the Congress to launch an investigation into the presidential administration to see if the firings were unconstitutional."

This was just one of the rallies in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, hundreds of current and former federal employees rallied outside the Health and Human Services Department for a similar cause.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DIANE CUPELIAN, Retired psychologist
"Why are they getting rid of people? They don't want the government to do what the government should do. He (Donald Trump) is taking money away from pregnant women, infants and children so he can give bigger tax breaks to super-rich people. That is appalling."

The U.S. administration is continuing its extensive efforts to massively reduce the federal workforce.

So far, more than 200,000 federal workers at more than a dozen agencies have had their roles eliminated, and many of those fired are probationary employees, according to a report by ABC News.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Energy Department, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are among the agencies where workers are facing termination.

The administration is also offering a "buyout" plan to federal employees, providing eight months of salary as compensation to encourage voluntary resignations. More than 75,000 have agreed to accept the plan, according to the White House.

One of the administration's central agendas was implementing sweeping reforms across federal government agencies, with USAID being the primary target for budget and staff reductions. More than 10,000 staffers at the agency have been placed on leave.

A recent survey released by the Pew Research Center shows that less than a month after the new administration took office, the U.S. public is divided on the impact the administration will have on the federal government.

A total of 41 percent believe the current administration will improve the functioning of the federal government, while 42 percent think it will make things worse.

While 76 percent of Republicans believe the new administration will improve the federal government's operations, 78 percent of Democrats believe it will only make the situation worse, according to the survey.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Washington D.C.
(XHTV)