Editor's note: This story is posted with permission from the anonymous federal employee who shared it with us. Some edits were made for length and clarity.
I was a former Legislative Affairs Specialist with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the Department of the Interior's (DOI) HQ in DC before being wrongfully terminated in February 2025 given my probationary status.
My position in legislative affairs is critical to agency functions as we correspond with respective committees and members of Congress—on both sides of the aisle—regarding bills that impact Federal public lands and waters. In addition, we draft statements for the record, prepare witnesses for hearings, deliver reports to Congress, track relevant bills, and much more.
The decision to wrongfully terminate my employment and other DOI congressional/agency liaisons due to "poor performance" claims directly impacts coordination with Congressional offices across the country.
Agencies, like the BLM, will be crucial to implementing the administration's energy dominance objectives, but likely will fall short due to the inability to coordinate effectively with Congress and its committees.
We needed dedicated civil servants working in the BLM's Legislative Affairs division, but these efforts to terminate my employment signal a careless error and alarm.