‘What happens if we’re not there?’ Florida’s federal workers worry about Trump

President Donald Trump is making good on his campaign pledge to “dismantle the deep state,” with a return-to-office mandate and resignation program designed to reduce the ranks of the federal workforce. He’s directed much of his ire at federal offices in Washington, D.C. and has promised to move some out of the nation’s capital.But four-fifths of federal workers already live outside the D.C. area. About 94,000 of them call Florida home . At least 32,000 live in Tampa Bay, according to membership totals from the American Federation of Government Employees, a major union.They work for key resources during storm season, like the National Hurricane Center in Miami and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They staff Veterans Affairs hospitals and guide Transportation Security Administration lines at Tampa International Airport. They process Social Security checks and tax documents at the Internal Revenue Service.By last week, around 65,000 workers — out of some 2.4 million — had taken the Trump administration’s buyout, which offers pay through September, according to Reuters . Those departures represent less than 3% of the federal workforce. It’s unclear how many of those leaving live in Florida.A federal judge extended a temporary pause on the program into this week as he considers whether to halt it indefinitely amid legal challenges from labor unions.Three workers based in Tampa Bay and Central Florida spoke with the Tampa Bay Times under the condition of anonymity due to concerns their jobs would be jeopardized. They said they won’t leave willingly — but they are anticipating scenarios where they’re laid off or fired after the buyout deadline passes. The Trump administration plans for “ sweeping layoffs ” to follow the buyout offer, according to CNN.One research scientist at the United States Geological Survey in Tampa Bay is staging parking lot conversations with colleagues, where they weigh how they’ll preserve public access to data on coastal erosion and water levels if they’re forced out. That data helps counties and cities weigh flood risks, she said.“We have moorings and instrumentation deployed in the oceans right now collecting data and collecting samples,” she said. “What happens if we’re not there?”Others have turned to encrypted platforms like Signal to talk amongst themselves. Hundreds of miles from the White House, workers fear one wrong word through official channels could get them fired.“I’ve lost a bunch of weight. I’m not eating and not sleeping,” the U.S. Geological Survey scientist said. When it comes to future layoffs, “we don’t know who, we don’t know why, we don’t know when.”Signs of abnormality were everywhere when Florida’s federal workers got the resignation offer, according to two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees interviewed by the Times.There were the subtle threats — the email said there was no guarantee employees wouldn’t lose their jobs after the buyout deadline. Messages came after hours from a government-wide human resources email address. The messages looked like spam, workers said.“Pretty much nothing is coming through our normal chain of command,” said one National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employee based in Central Florida. “All they’re doing is fomenting more anxiety, and part of me feels like that’s the point.”The American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit earlier this month alleging the buyout offer is illegal because it promises employees salaries beyond March 14, when government funding expires. There’s no guarantee beyond that date that employees will get their payouts, according to the union.It’s normal for new administrations to stall hiring temporarily, the U.S. Geological Survey scientist said. And past presidents, like Bill Clinton, have offered mass buyouts to federal workers.But Clinton’s buyout proposal took place over more than a year, not a span of days, giving workers and agencies time to prepare, said Tatishka Thomas, who leads the federal employee union’s Southeast division.It also feels harder for agencies to fly under the radar during Trump’s second term, said another National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employee, a fisheries scientist based in Tampa Bay. Project 2025, a conservative blueprint to overhaul the federal government, calls for breaking up the agency, which heads the National Weather Service and helps maintain fish populations, among other roles.The biggest federal departments in Florida are Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense and the Transportation Security Administration, Thomas said. The Veterans Administration hospitals in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties employ almost 11,000, for example. MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa employs more than 1,300 civilians.Some services many Floridians rely on could suffer with fewer personnel, Thomas said. The quality of care in veterans hospitals could decline, or retirees could see delays in receiving benefits.Some federal workers fear what getting laid off could mean for them personally in an area like Tampa Bay, where the cost of living is high. Thousands could seek assistance from the state’s strained unemployment system if the Trump administration moves ahead with mass layoffs.Losing her job, the U.S. Geological Survey scientist said, “would mean having to make some pretty serious life changes almost immediately.”Environmental science and Floridians’ public access to data are also under threat if the workforce shrinks, the three federal workers interviewed by the Times said. The Trump administration is already purging climate data from government websites and shuttering environmental offices .A freeze on federal grants, though temporarily paused, could also disrupt research at major centers like the University of South Florida, the U.S. Geological Survey scientist said.What makes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries scientist nervous is that the fallout may not be instantaneous. Instead, it could come as a slow decline in research projects and agency responsiveness, making it harder to track negative impacts.The fisheries scientist said his work with data informs regulations affecting two coasts and at least a dozen states, including Florida’s $300 million fishing industry.“So much of our work is just invisible.”

‘What happens if we’re not there?’ Florida’s federal workers worry about Trump

MORE FOR YOU

ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SUBSCRIBERS