Hundreds attend virtual town hall to seek answers to government ‘chaos and confusion’

Hundreds of people attended Maryland Rep. Sarah Elfreth’s Instagram live virtual meeting on Friday afternoon, seeking answers to questions about the government’s deferred resignation offer and other changes to federal agencies.

The meeting came a day after a federal judge temporarily paused President Donald Trump’s administration’s plan to reshape the federal workforce. Other members of Maryland’s congressional delegation, including Reps. Glenn Ivey and Steny Hoyer, hosted a similar meeting Thursday night.

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the union is urging federal workers to take action. The group represents thousands of employees, including those who work for the Department of Defense, U.S. Naval Academy, Education Department, Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency, among others.

They’re asking “federal workers not to quit, to reject the crooked and corrupt and degrading deal from Musk and Trump, because that’s exactly what I feel like,” Kelley said. “We ask you to take to social media — explain and defend the critical work the federal workers do.”

The union, Kelley said, is suing to stop the administration’s “Schedule F scheme to replace nonpartisan workers with unqualified political loyalists.” He’s encouraged workers to consider submitting briefs in support of lawsuits that have already been filed.

Kelley also recommended spreading the message about the challenges federal workers are currently facing in their neighborhood or religious circles.

“Tell your friends,” Kelley said. “Tell your family about the issues that federal employees are dealing with and how it will affect America if these jobs are cut out.”

Meanwhile, Congresswoman Elfreth said for members of Maryland and Virginia’s Congressional delegation, “this is a priority. We’re meeting about it, talking about it every single day.”

Elfreth’s office, she said, has received 1,000 calls between Monday and Thursday morning from concerned constituents.

“There’s been a lot of anxiety and chaos brought on by President Trump and Elon Musk’ ‘fork in the road’ email, challenges to Schedule F,” Elfreth said.

Kelley warned about the consequences of many federal workers accepting the deferred resignation offer.

“If there is no one to process the VA claims, what’s going to happen with the veterans?” Kelley asked. “If there’s nobody there to make sure that the food supply is healthy, what’s going to happen to all of us?”

If there aren’t enough TSA workers, Kelley said, “We’ll see another 9/11. We can’t afford that.”

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