Trump Tragedies features American workers whose lives were destroyed by Trump and his extremist policies. Testimonies submitted to AFGE are edited for clarity and length.
I worked as an Intake Specialist for the Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Department for over a year and a half. As an Intake Specialist I worked with claimants to evaluate claims of housing discrimination under the Fair Housing Act and Violence Against Women Act. Our claimants are often marginalized and financially desperate. The work requires patience, compassion, efficiency, and fast learning. All my performance reviews were deemed satisfactory or above.
The American people will suffer
Prior to my termination my team was already short staffed. Including myself, we had three full-time intake specialists serving four states. We needed to trust and support one another to process inquiries as efficiently as possible. Our office cannot investigate, close, or provide further resources for our claimants until their inquiries are evaluated by intake specialists.
My termination further slows an already delayed intake process. Our claimants and my team will suffer. Waiting in limbo, our claimants will not be able to exercise their rights as guaranteed by the Fair Housing Act and Violence Against Women Act. Many are facing imminent eviction and the threat of losing their shelter. My team will be reassigned leaving my remaining inquiries and hundreds of additional inquiries without the resources to process them.
I have been illegally fired without cause
In the weeks leading to my termination, I had no idea if my job would continue to exist or not. Despite assurances from management that my name was given as one critical for department functioning, I remained paranoid about my job security. I would regularly check Reddit because expected terminations and federal department changes were shared on the platform often before my management was aware and able to share with us.
The evening before I was fired, I saw 50% of HUD’s staff were expected to be terminated beginning with probationary and temporary employees. I received my letter of termination the next day around noon on February 14, 2025, effective immediately. My branch chief and regional director were both unaware of my termination before it happened. I have been illegally fired without cause from a team I genuinely cared for, a career I tailored my prior education and professional experience towards, and a mission I believed in.
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