'You lose all hope': Federal workers gripped by mental health distress amid Trump cuts

In interviews with NBC News, many federal workers shared stories of overwhelming stress, personal crises, rapid weight loss, panic attacks and more.

Topics

Trump’s Cuts to Federal Work Force Push Out Young Employees

The loss of early career workers has raised concerns about the impact on the next generation of civil servants.
The New York Times - 3d
All HHS workers given $25,000 voluntary buyout offer, source says

All employees in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were notified Friday of the option to voluntarily resign in exchange for a $25,000 payment.
CBS News - 20h
If Medicaid cuts include work requirements, people may lose health coverage as a result, research finds

Congress may have to implement Medicaid cuts to reach its budget targets. That could include new work requirements in order to obtain coverage.
CNBC - 7h
World Health Organization warns of possible tuberculosis surge because of USAID cuts

Health authorities say that the Trump administration’s gutting of USAID raises the risk of a global surge in tuberculosis cases and deaths.
NBC News - 11h
Stand up for Science rallies protesting Trump cuts held across U.S.

Thousands of people, including researchers, scientists, medical professionals and cancer survivors rallied across the U.S. in protest of the Trump Administration’s firings, budget and grants cuts ...
NBC News - 1d
DOGE Has Deployed Its GSAi Custom Chatbot for 1,500 Federal Workers

Elon Musk’s DOGE team is automating tasks as it continues its purge of the federal workforce.
Wired - 1d
Fired Federal Workers Face a Sluggish Job Market

Unemployment is low, but there isn’t much room to move around — especially for those with highly government-specific skills.
The New York Times - 2d
Trump’s cuts to higher education are sacrificing America’s future

American colleges and universities will lose their global preeminence, innovation will suffer, future scientists, doctors, artists and philosophers will not get trained and potentially ...
The Hill - 8h
Fired Federal Workers See Family Members Pile on After the DOGE Axe Falls

The abrupt loss of their livelihoods was tough enough. Now many laid-off government workers report their relatives and friends are celebrating their turmoil.
Inc. - 2d
Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

All employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, overseen by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., received unsigned emails Friday night offering them a “voluntary separation incentive ...
NBC News - 2h
Malnutrition food product sees funding affected by USAID cuts

Plumpynut is a life-saving food product that can bring a malnourished child back to health in just weeks. But the Trump administration's cuts to USAID essentially canceled funding to two American ...
CBS News - 1d
Africa Received Billions in U.S. Aid. Here’s What It Will Lose.

The United States spent decades responding to conflicts and disease in Africa. The continent is now expected to be the hardest hit by the Trump administration’s aid cuts.
The New York Times - 1h
DOGE Cuts Upend Trump-Voting West Virginia Town

‘Nobody that I’ve talked to understood the devastation that having this administration in office would do to our lives,’ said one fired Treasury Department worker in Parkersburg.
Inc. - 2d
Trump administration's funding, staff cuts spark concerns over Colorado River

Federal funding freezes and staffing cuts are setting off alarms about the future of the Colorado River, a critical artery that supplies water to some 40 million people in 30 tribes and seven ...
The Hill - 3h
House Republicans unveil spending bill boosting defense and trimming all else

Strategy is not likely to earn Democrats’ votes, so Trump is leaning on Republicans to force it through. US House Republicans unveiled a spending bill Saturday that would keep federal agencies ...
The Guardian - 1d
Federal funding cuts lead FEMA to cancel National Fire Academy courses

The cancellation of courses at National Fire Academy comes as the federally funded institution was set to welcome a new set of fire safety officers for training next week.
CBS News - 23h
Firing the Watchdogs | Sunday on 60 Minutes

Hampton Dellinger, former head of a federal watchdog agency, was among the first to be fired by President Trump. So were 18 inspectors general and the chief of the board that protects federal ...
CBS News - 1d
Are You Willing To Sacrifice All Your Privacy For AI?

It’s a question few people are asking—and a tradeoff few people will be willing to accept.
Inc. - 2d
Trump cancels $400 million in federal funds to Columbia University

The Trump administration announced Friday that it is canceling $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, saying the school is not doing enough to protect its Jewish students against ...
NBC News - 1d
Stand Up for Science Rally Sees Mix of Science, Politics and Anxiety

Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington for Stand Up for Science, a rally in response to President Trump’s federal-funding and job cuts.
The New York Times - 4h
Trump continues tariff tumult amid economic uncertainty

President Trump told reporters there could be some economic disturbance amid tweaks to tariffs at the end of a tumultuous week in the markets. NBC News Correspondents Aaron Gilchrist, Brian Cheung ...
NBC News - 2d
Scott Perry says no one 'legitimately' on Medicaid will lose coverage

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) suggested on Sunday that no one "legitimately" on Medicaid will lose their coverage due to GOP efforts to cut spending. In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” ...
The Hill - 5h
U.S. economy on shaky footing, Trump calls it a "detox period"

The U.S. economy is on shaky footing. The Trump administration calls it a "detox period" as it overhauls the federal government with layoffs, funding cuts and new tariffs. For markets, it's ...
CBS News - 22h
Social Security Workers Aren’t Allowed to Read This Story

New internet restrictions at the embattled SSA have cut off access to WIRED, along with other “general news” websites like The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Wired - 3d
‘The Interview’: Lady Gaga’s Latest Experiment? Happiness.

The pop superstar reflects on her struggles with mental health, the pressures of the music industry and why she’s returned to the sound that made her famous.
The New York Times - 1d
Elon Musk's Starlink has a growing footprint in the federal government

The use of Starlink has been adopted by at least one additional federal agency since Donald Trump began his second presidential term.
NBC News - 1d
Pentagon Cuts Threaten Programs That Secure Loose Nukes and Weapons of Mass Destruction

Documents obtained by WIRED show the US Department of Defense is considering cutting up to 75 percent of workers who stop the spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.
Wired - 3d
Columbia University loses $400mn in US government grants

Federal agencies say the ivy league institution failed to protect Jewish students from harassment
Financial Times - 2d
Ukraine loses ground in Kursk as US cuts off support

Moscow’s troops gain territory around the Russian town of Sudzha ahead of crucial talks between Kyiv and Washington this week
Financial Times - 2h
Israel to cut off electricity supply to Gaza, minister says

Eli Cohen's announcement on Sunday came one week after Israel cut off all aid supplies to the territory.
BBC News - 2h
If Ukraine Loses Starlink, Here Are the Best Alternatives

OneWeb, Project Kuiper, and IRIS2 could all, in time, replace Elon Musk's satellite communications system in Ukraine, but they will struggle to replicate Starlink's coverage and usability.
Wired - 3d
Israel says it is cutting off its electricity supply to Gaza

Israel says it is cutting off its electricity supply to Gaza, a week after Israel cut off all supplies of goods to the territory to over 2 million people.
NBC News - 5h
Trump has microwaved my Cornetto of hope | Stewart Lee

The gadfly-minded abuser has openly threatened Greenland, Ukraine and Europe. He, and America, are the enemy now. I’d say writing comedy about the ever-shifting opinions of Donald Trump, the Speedy ...
The Guardian - 11h
HHS sends all employees a $25,000 voluntary buyout offer

Health and Human Services employees were offered voluntary buyouts to resign from their jobs on Friday night, according to a person who received the email and an administration official.
NBC News - 1d
Bannon: DOGE 'waste, fraud, abuse’ cuts not enough to curb inflation

Steve Bannon said the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should adjust their goal of cutting trillions of dollars in federal waste and lower the proposed amount to the billion dollar ...
The Hill - 1d
Trump addresses economy concerns amid shifting policy on tariffs

President Donald Trump addressed concerns around the economy after a volatile week on Wall Street. It comes as Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico only to change course and pause some ...
NBC News - 1d
Push-up power! The exercise you need for a healthy, happy life – and eight ways to make it easier

Fast, free and phenomenally effective, push-ups are an unbeatable way to build the muscle you need every day – all the way into old age. Here’s how to master them, even if you’ve previously ...
The Guardian - 7h
Trump’s Contradictions Are His Ultimate Cover: ‘You Can’t Pin Him Down’

President Trump’s shifting positions and outright lies have presented the American public with dueling narratives at every turn.
The New York Times - 1d
Israel to cut off electricity in Gaza in apparent effort to force hand of Hamas

Humanitarian officials say move could hit already meagre water supply, as ceasefire talks grow increasingly chaotic. Israel is to cut off any remaining electricity supplies to Gaza in an apparent ...
The Guardian - 4h

More from NBC News

Sen. Slotkin says Democrats and Republicans ‘need to do better and act like adults’: Full interview

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) exclusively joins Meet the Press to discuss how Democrats are responding to the Trump administration and who could pick up the mantle of leadership for her party.
NBC News - 8h
Tariffs could deal a blow to Chinatowns that have no choice but to import cultural goods, locals say

In Chinatowns across the country, people worry about the potential damage to business, loss of cultural traditions and the already high rates of poverty in these immigrant communities.
NBC News - 9h
Your questions about bird flu, answered

Sky-high egg prices have drawn renewed attention to the bird flu outbreak, which has caused more than 166 million wild and domestic birds in the U.S. to die since it began.
NBC News - 11h
Plane crashes into residential area in Pennsylvania

Emergency crews responded to the site of a plane crash in a residential area in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on Sunday afternoon.
NBC News - 48m
Alice Weidel doesn’t fit the profile of a far-right politician. The German AfD is willing to look past it.

MUNICH — She has two children with a Sri Lankan-born woman, speaks Chinese and previously worked at global financial institutions — an unconventional profile for the leader of a male-dominated ...
NBC News - 11h