Letters

Donald Trump always begins with a big lie, which becomes viral through X and Fox News. His newest big lie: The federal workforce is the Deep State, bloated, filled with waste and fraud, pushing useless regulations, with employees sitting home not working. It needs to be dismantled.

None of this is true. But Trump and Elon Musk want the public to believe their lie and turn a blind eye to the destruction of the federal government.

America needs to wake up before Trump/Musk gut the regulations and federal agencies that keep us safe. It should be noted, many of the targeted agencies are investigating Musk’s businesses.

Here’s the truth.

About 341 million people live in the United States today. According to current data available from the Congressional Budget Office, the federal government employs about 5.1 million workers, similar to the number employed in 1992; 2.3 million of these workers are civilian, 2.1 million are uniformed military personnel, and about 700,000 are mostly U.S. Postal Service workers.

The entire 2.3 million civilian workforce constitutes approximately 4 percent of the federal budget. Hardly bloated, considering the services provided to all of us.

Most federal employees work outside Washington, D.C., full time, in the office. Those who are teleworking do so on a hybrid schedule. A small percentage have permanent remote jobs. There is zero evidence that remote working has lowered productivity. Rather, it has enabled the hiring of highly qualified people who live long distances from federal offices.

The vast majority of federal regulations protect our health, food supply, environment and financial well-being. The regulations also prevent financial cheating by banks, corporations and oligarchs.

Trump/Musk want to cut 30 to 40 percent of the federal workforce, gut federal agencies and stymie regulations, claiming, without any evidence, the need to remove waste and fraud. But these actions will only make the country sicker, poorer and less safe, while banks, corporations and oligarchs get richer at our expense.

Federal civilian employees are nonpartisan public servants, and 30 percent are veterans. Federal hiring practices include a veterans’ preference, and military service time is added to federal years of employment. Veterans who sacrificed and served our country honorably have already been fired and had their health insurance canceled. The Trump/Musk crusade will continue to cruelly upend veterans and their families for no good reason.

Congressman Nick LaLota campaigned on his military service. He needs to be reminded that our district has 9,000 federal employees, thousands of whom are veterans. Call and ask if he will fight to protect their jobs, health and benefits. Will he protect all of us from unfettered bank, corporate and oligarch interests, or will he silently hide behind the Trump/Musk big lie?

Dean A. Stiffle

Sag Harbor