Trump’s Hiring Freeze Throws Wildfire Fighters Into Disarray
The federal firefighting force is facing uncertainty with fire season just around the corner and the Los Angeles fires barely in the rearview mirror.
A US Forest Service firefighter monitors the Hughes Fire in Southern California.
Photographer: Kyle Grillot/BloombergFederal firefighters have found their jobs on the chopping block as a result of US President Donald Trump’s executive orders, with a hiring freeze simultaneously blocking reinforcements in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires and ahead of the upcoming fire season.
“I know multiple people who were supposed to start work on Monday and were not able to,” said Rachel Granberg, a firefighter who serves as representative for the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), in an interview this week. A US District Court judge on Wednesday cleared the way for Trump’s buyout offers to millions of federal employees, overcoming a lawsuit by labor unions.