Federal employees scramble as some terminations across agencies are rescinded

Source: ABC News

February 20, 2025, 3:51 PM


Following the flurry of federal firings over the weekend as a part of President Donald Trump's mission to decrease the federal government with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, hundreds of government workers were informed that their terminations had been rescinded.

Employees from the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture received notice that they were no longer fired from their government positions. On Feb. 13, hundreds of staffers at the National Nuclear Security Administration were fired in the wave of mass Trump administration terminations, but the following day, the Department of Energy paused the firings of hundreds of employees who work for the key agency maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile, according to sources.

However, Department of Energy officials were unable to get in touch with some critical nuclear workers as they frantically attempt to rehire them, according to an internal email obtained by ABC News. But on Tuesday, all but 28 of the roughly 300 fired NNSA employees had been rehired, multiple sources told ABC News. The Department of Veterans Affairs, which fired 1,000 probationary employees earlier this week, is also working to rehire a number of employees who worked on the Veterans Crisis Line, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., posted on X.

"My office has personally spoken with dismissed federal employees that worked for the Veterans Crisis Hotline and supported the VA claims process," Duckworth, joined by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said on a press call with reporters Wednesday afternoon. "Now, after I raised these cases to the VA and spoke out about them, it sounds like, thankfully, at least some of these employees will be rehired," she added.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/federal-employees-scramble-terminations-agencies-rescinded/story?id=118985384