Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are dismantling vital public services in the name of combating “inefficiency.” That’s meant abruptly — and often illegally — firing tens of thousands of workers like me.

The word “inefficiency” conjures images of long lines at the DMV and pencil pushing employees. But as a federal employee myself, I know the work we do is actually essential to the well-being of all Americans.

In my federal job, my coworkers and I will go to court to keep landlords in Alabama from discriminating against families for having children. We’ll stop another in New York from discriminating against a disabled veteran. And we’ll fight to keep bankers from denying home loans to families because of the color of their skin.

That’s just a tiny fraction of the crucial work done by millions of public servants who work daily to improve and often save lives. Everybody benefits from these services.

Without us, nobody would be able to get their Social Security checks, or their Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Veterans wouldn’t get free, high quality health care tailored to their specific needs. Discrimination wouldn’t be monitored and stopped.

Anything that the private sector couldn’t squeeze profits out of simply wouldn’t get done — to the detriment of all Americans, everywhere. That’s why I didn’t accept Musk’s bogus resignation “

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