Peters’ job included replanting forests with young saplings, and he said he put in “100% effort all the time.” Supervisors were apologetic when they called to fire him, explaining that his name was on a list handed down by the federal Office of Personnel Management.
A follow-up letter contained the same terse message that was sent to at least four colleagues in Peters’ roughly 40-person office, and 3,400 workers across the Forest Service:
“The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.”
Peters feels betrayed by politicians he helped put in office. He voted for Trump in November, impressed by his vows to bolster the economy and slow immigration across the southern border.
“If I had known that this was going to happen,” he said, “I wouldn’t have voted for him.”
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/02/trump-firings-hit-great-lakes-sea-lamprey-program-michigan-forestry/
The news came in an email from the acting administrator of his agency. It said that it would not be in the “public interest” to continue further employment, citing his performance,
“For this reason, the Agency informs you that the Agency is removing you from your position,” the email further stated.
Because they are concerned about possible retaliation and a likely appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, the couple asked WTOP not to use their names for this story.
___
The termination is complicated by the fact that last November they supported Donald Trump when he sought the White House for a second term.
“I voted for Donald Trump. But this is not what I was expecting,” he said. “We didn’t think they were going to take a chainsaw to a silk rug.”
https://wtop.com/virginia/2025/02/this-civil-servant-and-veteran-voted-for-trump-now-hes-out-of-a-job/
“The letters are willfully incorrect and to our belief in NTEU unlawful," Berman told NBC10. "They say essentially 'your ability, skills and performance do not make you a fit for federal employment. In addition, your performance is not up to par.' This is patently untrue. These are being all issued with the exact same wording to every single one of these probationary employees, whether they have just gotten out of training and had no performance metrics. Whether they have been here for almost their entire year and had very good performance appraisals."
___
“You know when he talks about government waste and all that, yes, I’m behind it,” McCabe said. “I believe there is a lot of stuff in the government that needs fixing. And that’s part of the reason why I actually wanted to work for the government, actually. To help change. Help change the things that are wrong in the world, you know? I thought that someone with his business acumen would have come in with a fine-tooth comb and actually found it instead of coming in with a wrecking ball and destroying people’s lives for no reason."
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philadelphia-irs-layoffs-firings-union-president-trump/4114738/