|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Earlier this week, AL.com reported that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, had fired many workers at the Birmingham Social Security office.
The move, just one of countless cuts being made by Musk and DOGE since President Donald Trump’s return to office, has elicited outrage from Democrats, like U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., whose constituents are being directly affected.
Sewell tweeted on Tuesday that her office “received reports that more than 100 of my constituents who work at the Social Security Administration in Birmingham have been unjustly terminated,” and later clarified that the American Federation of Government Employees told her the cuts affected “Social Security Region 4, which covers several states including Alabama.”
“Elon Musk’s reckless power trip is directly threatening the livelihoods of my constituents,” Sewell posted. “This madness must stop!”
Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, believes that this is only the beginning of the hardship to be faced by many workers across Alabama.
“This is the realization of what’s to come,” said Givan. “And it’s a very sad commentary… These [federal jobs] were always considered to be secure jobs. And unfortunately, what we’re going to be seeing is a lot of good people that are losing their jobs.”
A similar sentiment was expressed by state Sen. Linda-Coleman Madison, D-Birmingham, who called the cuts just the beginning of the “chickens coming home to roost.”
“This is going to have a huge impact on our local economy and Alabama’s workforce,” Coleman-Madison told AL.com. “Alabama has taken pride in reducing our unemployment rates; seems like our president is reversing this trend.”
Sen. Coleman-Madison referred to the cuts as “devastating” and an “absolute shock.” “People with disabilities will be on permanent hold and caregivers left with few options to provide for loved ones’ unique needs,” she continued.
“While I did not vote for Trump, I do not believe this is what the people who voted for him expected,” Coleman-Madison added.
Last week, APR spoke with a Trump voter whose efforts to restore a small farm in Jefferson County had been undercut by the administration’s freeze on funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her comments mirrored Sen. Coleman-Madison’s, as she expressed that she did not expect a Trump victory to result in such severe cuts to the federal government.
According to state Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, remaining employees at the Birmingham Social Security office are “very worried, wondering if it’s going to be their turn tomorrow or the day after that.”
Meanwhile, Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation continue to proudly support the efforts of Musk and DOGE.
“We should be thanking President Trump and the entire DOGE team for the incredible service they are doing for our country. In fact, as a proud member of the Senate DOGE Caucus, I’m 100 percent committed to making sure Congress does our part to follow the President’s lead to rightsize the government and cut waste, fraud, and abuse,” U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., wrote in a recent op-ed posted to his X account.
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Ala., has also downplayed the potential economic harm of DOGE’s cuts. Strong recently claimed that, at least in Huntsville, the defense industry and a diverse economy will help offset the loss of federal jobs.
However, some Republicans, like U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., have provided some pushback on DOGE’s seemingly indiscriminatory cuts. Specifically, Britt has said that she is working to working to make sure DOGE doesn’t harm what she called “life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions,” including the University of Alabama.
Britt’s comments came as Trump, Musk and DOGE placed caps on the National Institutes of Health grant program that threaten medical research at universities, medical centers and research institutions across the U.S. Those caps have since been temporarily paused by a federal judge after 22 states sued the Trump administration over the policy change.
