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In early May 2025, a woman felt a sharp pain radiate from her hip while she bent over to water some plants. Then she fell over and was unable to rise.

Her husband summoned emergency services and she spent the night in a hospital, where, in her late fifties, doctors discovered she had a mass on her spine. It was metastatic breast cancer.

"There was no indication this would occur, and I was devastated. At first, I didn’t clearly understand that it was part of my breast cancer which had spread to my spine, which I learned is common for it to go," she said.

"If I were to die prematurely, I could not imagine leaving [my husband] here. We have any family. We are without children of our own."

When Trump won the 2024 election, Michaela’s husband prepared to be forced back into the office at the Department of Transportation in Washington DC. He had been teleworking since the beginning of the global pandemic, from their home outside Baltimore.

On Trump’s first day in office in January, he issued demanding all federal agencies end all telework arrangements. The office of personnel management directed agencies to enact the order despite collective bargaining contracts.

"My husband’s a veteran with the administration, and he’s an expert in his field. He has worked for 20 years now, so it is draining for him. We’re in our 50s. He departed the house at five o’clock in the morning and returning at 7 p.m. at night," she stated. Her real name is withheld as her husband still works at the Department of Transportation and fears retaliation.

During the summer, Michaela had surgery, a laminectomy. A few weeks after that, she had targeted radiation therapy, and is now taking an cancer treatment called Kisqali alongside hormone therapy.

She was previously diagnosed with stage one breast cancer a decade ago, but was able to treat it, due to early detection, with a surgical procedure, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal medication. Through regular checkups, she managed her health, before her recent diagnosis of stage four metastatic breast cancer.

Navigating Job Cuts and Reorganization

Over the past year, Michaela’s husband survived reductions in force at the Department of Transportation. By spring, nearly 2,800 employees had departed the department, due to the cuts as well as employees retiring and voluntary resignations.

Per a memo on its plan for staff reductions and reorganization, the agency estimated that by the end of next year, its staffing levels would be cut by approximately 20 percent from earlier levels.

This would correlate to over ten thousand reduced staff at the department. Government workforce reductions have exceeded goals, with a significant number of workers exiting the federal government and a small number of replacements.

"We were worried about RIFs. It is clear based on the way this administration functions, that this remains a constant threat because they ignore the law," she elaborated.

She noted that specialized positions at the agency are hard to come by and contractors often want to pay lower salaries.

Facing a Government Shutdown

While the DOT was losing staff, on October 1st a closure of the U.S. government began, continuing for over a month, the longest in US history.

Michaela and her husband marked their 18th wedding anniversary in the fall, during the ongoing closure, but stayed at home because they couldn’t afford to dine out due to her husband going without a paycheck for several weeks.

She is thankful the government shutdown concluded as she was worried about medical bills, but laments the increases in insurance premiums she and her husband have experienced, as well as for those who rely on healthcare through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

"I felt desperate. I felt destitute. I felt flabbergasted, scared, and I observed my husband and there were a few times where he was sitting at his desk and he gazed out the window. He was getting depressed," she recounted.

Feeling Targeted

"We’re just one drop in a ocean of millions people who work so hard to get where they are, who try to do the correct thing, and the people who are setting policy are just ransacking and managing the government and viewing federal workers like adversaries, that they are lesser citizens, and that they should be attacked. And I take personal offense to that," she said.

Future Uncertainty

She is now worried is another possible looming government shutdown in late January, with the bulk of government funding set to lapse again without a permanent agreement.

"The temporary funding measure comes up for a vote again on the 30th of January and I fear this will repeat all over again. We’ve been through several shutdowns. This was decidedly the most severe," she said. "I’m already battling a serious disease, and I don’t know where it’s going to take me. I could be here for a couple more years. I might live for a decade."