Scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some fired federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: Relatives cheering their job loss.

Summary

Recently terminated federal workers face not only unemployment challenges but also hurtful reactions from family members who support the government cuts.

Luke Tobin, fired from the Forest Service, and Kristin Jenn, whose Park Service job was frozen, describe relatives celebrating their job losses as necessary to “make the government great again.”

Former Park Service employee Riley Rackliffe encountered social media comments calling him a “glorified pool boy” despite his Ph.D.

Some workers report family members unfriending them on social media or dismissing their positions as “waste.”

  • @frog_brawler
    6•1 day ago

    I lucked out in that all of my relatives that are still living are reasonable. I didn’t need to remove any relatives from my life.

    Friends however… yikes! Different story there. I moved from a red state to a blue state in October so I need to meet some people here.

      • @frog_brawler
        2•1 day ago

        Ah hell… my comment was supposed to be a reply to someone else in this thread but I suppose I messed up. It looks weird out of context like this.