Weekly Newsletter, 2.24.25
Over the past few weeks, the Trump Administration and unelected billionaire-in-chief Elon Musk launched a direct attack on our federal agencies — undermining not just our civil service, but also the essential services that they provide to the American people. They have also tried to gut or shut down essential federal government agencies and freeze their Congressionally authorized funding.
These actions all come right out of Project 2025 — the Trump Administration playbook authored by newly confirmed Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought. And they are all an effort to seize unprecedented and unconstitutional power, ignore any checks and balances on that power, and find trillions of dollars to fund tax breaks to billionaires and large corporations.
The devastating effects of these reckless actions are already rippling through our communities.
During this overwhelming time, I want to hear directly from you about the impact of the sweeping layoffs and the chaos of the Musk-Trump-Vance Administration. Since the Inauguration, we have received calls every day from constituents expressing their anger and dismay at the Trump Administration’s actions. And my first tele-town hall of the 119th Congress had a record number of callers — over 10,000!
Many of you have raised serious concerns regarding Elon Musk and his DOGE Bros running amok in our federal agencies, the attacks on our federal workforce and the disastrous funding cuts Republicans have proposed. I share your concerns and want you to know that my office stands ready to help in any way we can to fight back against these abuses of power. Thank you to all of you who dialed into the town hall or have called and emailed our offices to make your voices heard. I urge you to continue sharing your stories.
This Administration wants us to feel helpless, but we are fighting back.
Keep reading to see how my Democratic colleagues and I have been standing up for the civil service and pushing back against this reckless Administration.
SOUNDING THE ALARM: TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON THE CIVIL SERVICE AND MILITARY LEADERSHIP
Fighting Back Against Attacks on the Federal Workforce:
First and foremost, I want to say thank you to the over 2 million hardworking civilian federal government employees who serve our country every day, over 140,000 of whom work in Virginia. Even more federal employees call Virginia home, with about 19,000 residing in Virginia’s Fourth District. I know the immense, irreplaceable value of your service and will always stand with you. I urge those who can to stay in the fight — we need you.
OMB Director Vought, said he wanted to traumatize our federal workforce. Musk and the Trump Administration have done just that by demanding all teleworkers return to the office, offering a bogus “buyout” to let them work from home with pay through September, summarily firing them without cause, and more.
This assault on our federal workforce is the Project 2025 plan to replace civil servants loyal to the U.S. Constitution with MAGA acolytes loyal to Donald Trump. We have even received reports of federal employees being asked to detail the moment they became MAGA.
If you are a federal employee who lives in VA-04 and were recently laid off, be sure you know your rights. If you live in VA-04, please reach out to my office to share your stories and see how we can to help.
My full statement on the Trump Administration’s ongoing attacks on the federal workforce can be found here.
Musk, Vought and Trump think they can intimidate our federal workforce into blindly doing their bidding. They are wrong.
Alongside the largest federal employee union, the American Federation of Government Employees and other civil service organizations, I spoke out about the need to stand up and fight back against this radical assault on the civil service by the Trump Administration.
A few days later, I joined NewsNation to sound the alarm about the ongoing purge of the civil service and how it will endanger the safety of the American people and the services they rely on.
Friday Night Purge at the Pentagon:
The American people have trusted the United States Armed Forces to protect them and our Constitution for 250 years, and our military leaders swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not an oath to do the bidding of one man.
Late Friday night, Trump purged three of our nation’s best and brightest military leaders: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles “C.Q.” Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force James Slife. Trump also fired the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corp leadership for the Army, Navy and Airforce — the officers who ensure the military acts lawfully within the scope of the U.S. Constitution. This unprecedented move comes with no justification beyond the musings of the least qualified Secretary of Defense of all time that General Brown was solely chosen to be Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff because he is Black — despite an over 40-year military career of distinction and the fact that he was called “a patriot and great leader” by President Trump when he appointed him Chief of the Air Force.
Read my full statement on Trump’s firing of General Brown and my interview with 13NewsNation discussing the dangerous shake ups at the Pentagon.
CALLING OUT HOSTILE AGENCY TAKEOVERS
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
Among a slew of agency takeovers, Rep. Maxine Waters and I wrote a letter to Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Russell Vought and Department of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, demanding they halt DOGE’s hostile takeover of the agency’s vital work to protect consumers from predatory lending, mortgage fraud, exploitive junk fees and unfair bank practices.
Internal Revenue Service:
Recent reports have indicated Trump and Elon Musk expanded their federal workforce attacks to the IRS, laying off employees at the Richmond office. This decision to decimate the agency responsible for holding tax cheats accountable and processing tax returns in the middle of tax season will do nothing to lower the deficit or costs for Americans, but is certain to cause chaos.
National Park Service:
The Trump Administration’s staffing cuts to the National Park Service (NPS) staff have hit Richmond especially hard, forcing Maggie Walker Historic Site to remain open only twice a week due to staffing shortages. I joined my fellow Virginia Delegation members to call on the Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to reverse these cuts to NPS staff immediately.
Department of Energy:
The Trump Administration recklessly fired 300 staff at the agency tasked with managing our nation’s stockpile — a clear indication of both the ignorance of this Administration and the threat it poses to our physical safety.
Federal Aviation Administration:
Just weeks after the devastating plane crash at DCA, this Administration brazenly fired hundreds of FAA employees, sparking chaos at an agency already facing a shortfall of air traffic controllers.
FIGHTING BACK AGAINST TRUMP’S DANGEROUS CABINET
Kash Patel Confirmed as FBI Director:
Last Thursday, Senate Republicans confirmed Kash Patel as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a Trump loyalist who lacks the temperament, experience and character necessary to serve as FBI Director.
I previously joined Representatives Glenn Ivey, Seth Magaziner and Sydney Kamlager-Dove to urge our Senate colleagues to reject his confirmation. During my speech, I read a letter from an FBI agent’s wife in Richmond who detailed the “profound fear” and anxiety her family is experiencing under the Trump Administration’s workforce purges and agency takeovers.
RFK, Jr. Confirmed as HHS Secretary:
Our HHS Secretary should be a leader who fights to expand healthcare access, address disparities and strengthen trust in science.
Instead, the Senate confirmed Trump’s pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an anti-vaxxer and misinformation superspreader who peddles racist tropes.
Earlier this month, I joined my Democratic colleagues to oppose RFK, Jr.’s confirmation. Read my full statement on how the well-being of all Americans will suffer because of RFK Jr., and his embrace of harmful, anti-science theories.
MY BRIGHT SPOT
Celebrating Our Nation’s Heroes with Valentine’s for Vets:
Unlike this Administration, which has attacked our civil service and the veterans who make up a third of the federal workforce, we celebrate their service.
Virginia is home to over 600,000 veterans — that’s nearly 1 in 10 Virginians!
On Valentine’s Day, my team and I delivered Valentines to veterans’ organizations across the district to thank them for their service and discuss what’s happening on the Hill with veterans at Hopewell’s VFW Post 637. A number of people expressed concern over how the Trump Administration's hiring freeze has impacted the Veterans Administration services, particularly at the VA health centers and how proposed workforce and agency cuts will impact veterans.
Thank you to everyone who sent Valentines for vets in VA-04 and the veterans who joined us for an important discussion!
This week, I’m back in Washington to fight tooth and nail against Republicans’ extreme budget cuts.
What could these cuts mean for you and your family? Check out my explainer on Bluesky, and make sure to follow my accounts on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X and YouTube to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington and Virginia’s Fourth!