Michelle Kirchner was just a few weeks away from making it through her probationary period with the Agriculture Department when she was fired Friday via email, ending what she’d considered a dream job with the federal government.
Like other civil servants ousted by the Trump administration, Kirchner was outraged by the stated reason for her termination: “Based on your performance, you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.”
Kirchner called that rationale “a blatant lie.”
“It’s incredibly offensive,” said the 31-year-old, who researched the effects pest control methods have on pollinators in alfalfa fields. “I have worked my butt off. I’ve only received positively glowing reviews from my supervisor and an award for how well I’ve performed. … I feel almost like I’m defending my reputation.”
The Trump administration apparently views probationary employees like Kirchner as low-hanging fruit in their effort to decimate the federal workforce. Newer federal workers typically work one to three years before they achieve permanent status and stronger job protections, but the probationary category also includes workers with longer tenures who changed positions.
Officials haven’t said exactly how many probationary employees they have fired since late last week, and a White House spokesperson didn’t respond when asked Tuesday. More than 200,000 probationary employees were hired over the previous year.
Federal employee unions have taken the administration to court in an effort to stop the purge, calling it arbitrary and illegal. A judge was set to hear their argument for a temporary restraining order on Tuesday afternoon.
“I feel almost like I’m defending my reputation.”
– Michelle Kirchner, fired Agriculture Department employee
Even though probationary employees don’t have the same job security as permanent employees, they are still owed administrative due process before they can be let go. Union leaders argue the White House is violating the law by failing to provide workers with adequate notice of their terminations and by citing performance as a pretext for what amounts to a mass layoff.
A firing notice viewed by HuffPost invited an employee to appeal their termination before the Merit Systems Protection Board, an agency whose Democratic chair President Donald Trump removed last week in what the official called an illegal firing. (A judge ruled Tuesday that Trump must reinstate her.)
Although the scope of the probationary layoffs isn’t clear yet, federal employees say the effects will be felt for years as the government loses a large crop of workers who would have devoted their careers to public service.
The administration has already had to reverse the termination of hundreds of Energy Department staffers who help manage the country’s nuclear weapons. It’s also faced a wave of criticism for firing probationary employees at the Federal Aviation Administration weeks after a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and commercial plane collided in Washington, D.C., killing 67.
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One Internal Revenue Service employee said the administration’s reported plan to lay off probationary employees could lead to a yearslong mess for processing tax returns.
“It’s skilled, technical work and it takes months and months, even years to become proficient,” said the worker, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “You can’t put a high school kid behind a computer terminal at the IRS and expect the same level of service we currently provide the American taxpayer.”
Trump’s attacks on the federal workforce have stoked anger and confusion, as the administration moves at a breakneck speed with seemingly little regard for logistics or legal considerations.
In addition to firing probationary workers, the White House has also tried to push workers out through a legally shaky deferred resignation program known as “Fork in the Road.” The program purportedly offers those who resign several months of pay for doing little or no work, even though Congress hasn’t appropriated funds beyond March 14.
HuffPost interviewed a federal cybersecurity specialist in Idaho who decided to take the buyout and move on to a job in the private sector rather than face years of Trump-inflicted uncertainty. He replied to the Office of Personnel Management with his intent to accept the “Fork in the Road” terms — only to be fired as a probationary employee at the Department of Homeland Security on Friday.
“It’s just a dirty deal — you volunteer to take it, and they still nix you 2 1/2 weeks later,” said the worker, who asked to speak anonymously in part because most of his neighbors are fervent Trump supporters.
The worker provided emails that showed just how chaotic the administration’s bureaucratic shake-up has been. After accepting the buyout, his agency’s interim director followed up to say he and other employees in his division weren’t actually eligible for it. Then six days later, the director emailed with another reversal: they were eligible after all.
“It’s just a dirty deal – you volunteer to take [the buyout] and they still nix you two and a half weeks later.”
– Fired probationary worker
But the worker found the stated reason for his termination — his performance — to be the most galling. He said he had never received a performance review since starting his job last October. His wife, who’s spent a career in human resources, was appalled by the way he was terminated, he said.
“It’s just super unethical in the way they went about it,” he said.
Kirchner, the Agriculture Department employee, was supposed to work a three-year position but only made it through around 11 months before she was fired. She said she doesn’t see how her termination would save federal money since her role was funded by a specific grant rather than congressional appropriations.
The administration isn’t wielding a scalpel to make the bureaucracy more efficient, she said, adding, “They’re coming through with a machete.”
Although she was devastated to lose her job, she found hope in the way her own supervisor responded to the termination notice — by replying-all to the email and calling Kirchner’s firing “an immense loss” that would hurt the alfalfa growers who benefit from her research.
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“As Michelle’s supervisor, I am devastated by her removal from public service, and do not support this action,” the supervisor wrote.