Personal Stories of Being Pushed Out of the Trump White House

Last Friday, Donald Trump fired the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, following a weaker-than-expected July jobs report and downward revisions of employment numbers. He accused Dr. McEntarfer of reporting false numbers, for which there is no evidence, in an effort to blame her for unwelcome economic news. This firing was widely condemned, including by McEntarfer’s predecessor in Trump’s first term, who said it “sets a dangerous precedent” that will undermine the credibility of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Going forward, with a likely Trump sycophant in the role with the ability to potentially manipulate employment numbers, there will be reason to question future job reports.

The firing of Dr. McEntarfer is yet another example of Donald Trump’s assault on decency, democracy, and the truth. Sadly, it’s not the only egregious example from the past week. Yesterday, Trump supported the deployment of the FBI to hunt down Democratic Texas lawmakers who fled the state to block Republican redistricting efforts. This gerrymandering effort, encouraged by Trump, aims to steal five Texas House seats ahead of the midterms.

Trump continues to pursue a narrow political agenda with one overarching objective – the consolidation of power to benefit himself – which is moving the United States away from democracy and closer to authoritarianism. While there are many important developments unfolding in Israel and around the world, no single issue will impact American Jews more than the erosion of democracy here at home. Our security and future are inextricably tied to our democracy, and its degradation and demise are something we overlook at our own peril.

 Interviews with Two Former Federal Employees

In order to fully understand the impact of Trump’s attack on democracy and the truth, it’s important to look beyond the headlines, firings, and even job reports to the individual stories of those who have served in the Trump White House. This week, I interviewed two people who worked as civil servants in the Executive Branch for decades, including in Trump’s first term. They were both effectively forced to leave their jobs when their values and commitment to decency and democracy began to interfere with Trump’s agenda in his second term.

The first former employee ascended through the ranks in consecutive administrations, Republican and Democratic, proudly serving the country in an important national security role. That changed in Donald Trump’s second term, when orders were given orally – intentionally not in writing – by the White House that may not be “legal, ethical, or proper…it’s like a broken game of telephone.”

When faced with the prospect of implementing – or being a bystander to the implementation of – potentially illegal or unethical White House orders, this federal employee chose to walk away from government altogether. Unfortunately, in Trump’s second term, civil servants have been forced to choose between what they know is right and the agenda of this White House.

The second former employee described “an attempt [by the Trump White House] to put fear in the bureaucracy and make things as painful as possible for those in federal service.” He explained an intentional “desire to make federal employees suffer,” which is exactly what now-Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought said in November 2024 when he declared that “we want bureaucrats to be traumatically affected…We want to put them in trauma.”

This former employee described a requirement of loyalty to Donald Trump and his agenda, even among nonpartisan bureaucrats. While debate was welcomed in previous administrations, he said there is “no dissent tolerated; no room for policy debate” in Trump’s second term. This former employee explained that those who are not aligned with Trump are pushed out, and the “system is not functioning well at all. It’s a combination of paralysis and bad ideas. It’s chaotic, with a handful of people making all the decisions, no one knows where they’re headed, no big picture strategy, nothing you can point to in order to understand the vision.”

When faced with the reality of having to choose between being a part of the paralysis, bad ideas, and chaos, or getting out, this public servant chose to leave. And while this employee didn’t work on immigration issues, his biggest fear was being forced to be a part of “the dehumanization of immigrants and migrants.” Describing policies that are “antithetical” to his values, this former employee would “prefer to be fired than forced to work on those issues.”

While “normal” administrations would be concerned about the risks of losing so many talented and experienced civil servants, especially those serving in critical national security roles, it was this former employee’s view that the Trump White House “doesn’t seem to care.” They don’t care about people. They don’t care about the law. They don’t care about democracy. And they don’t care about our national security.

The first former employee reflected on the cumulative impact of so many civil servants being pushed out of government. “There is a significant loss of institutional knowledge and technical expertise honed over years of leadership. This cannot easily be replicated and will hurt the individual agencies at a time when they need leaders with integrity the most. It will also hurt the American public.”

Where We Go From Here

As the mounting costs of Trump’s assault on democracy continue to grow, there’s really only one answer: ensure that Democrats who will defend our democracy take back control of Congress next November. This is the only way to create a guardrail against Trump’s authoritarianism and lay the groundwork for Democrats to win back the White House in 2028. This is the only path forward to hold on to our democracy, frayed and fragile as it may be, and rebuild for a better future.

This work starts now, and if you’re interested in being a part of our Jewish movement for electing Democrats who share our values, please join our two upcoming JDCA members events: (1) Our JDCA Town Hall and Open House Discussion on Monday, August 11, at 12:00 p.m. ET; and (2) a members discussion with leading voting rights attorney Marc Elias on Wednesday, August 20, at 12:00 p.m. ET to discuss “Texas and Beyond: Redistricting and the Fight for Democracy with Marc Elias.” Both events are open to JDCA members, and we encourage you to join JDCA as a 2025 member by clicking here. All JDCA members will receive details for joining us virtually on August 11 and August 20 for these important discussions.

Thank you for your support and partnership, and Shabbat Shalom,

Halie Soifer

CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America