A federal worker who was fired by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has spoken to CNN about the moment she found out. And what’s worse, she voted for Donald Trump.

The Department of Government Efficiency is taking no prisoners, and with Elon Musk heading up a team that’s attempting to slash $2 trillion from government spending, we always knew that heads were going to roll.

President Donald Trump says that while he’s happy with the work his ‘First Buddy’ and the DOGE are doing, he wants them to be ‘more aggressive.’ It seems Musk has taken this in his stride, sending out a mass email that demanded staff justify their accomplishments.

Musk and Trump have been slashing jobs across the government (Andrew Harnik / Staff / Getty)

Alongside concerns that Musk’s email could be illegal, a federal judge has found that the mass firing of thousands of probationary employees was likely ‘unlawful.’ That hasn’t stopped legions of workers from being given the boot. Among them is Ryleigh Cooper, a former U.S. Forest Service worker who is baffled that she lost her job even though she voted for Trump.

As explained by CNN, Cooper’s dreams of becoming a mother were spurred on by Trump claiming he’d make IVF free. Unfortunately for Cooper, she didn’t know that her vote would come at the cost of her job.

CNN’s Laura Coates spoke to Cooper and asked what it was like to learn she was being let go. Cooper admitted: “It was really hard. I was on the phone with my best friend Kelly at the time. We were just discussing her life and how things were going, and I looked at my phone, and I had gotten a text from our union rep.

“He told me that I was going to be fired the next day, and I told her, ‘I have to go, I’m getting fired tomorrow.’ And my heart just sank.”

When Coates discussed the idea that the American people want to see a streamlined government, and this is something Trump is delivering on, Cooper said this wasn’t the reason she voted for him.

Referring to herself as a swing voter, Cooper said Trump’s promise of fertility treatment was the single issue that got her vote: “I want to be a mom. Women who have gone through that experience, that heartbreaking feeling of wanting something that you might never have, they understand how much of your time is taken up with those thoughts, and how overwhelming and lonely it can feel.”

When asked if she regretted voting for Trump, Cooper solemnly said that she feels regret and has had “a lot of tumultuous thoughts about that day.” Saying it’s easy to get tunnel vision when you aren’t given an endless amount of options, she continued: “I also had to come to terms with the fact that I was likely going to be a part of, you know, taking chances away from other groups of people, and that’s never sat well with me.”

Cooper says she’s been getting a lot of hate mail for speaking out about both voting for Trump and her firing: “I’ve had people tell me that they hope I never have a child and I got exactly what I deserve.

“As much as all the terrible comments have been coming through, I’ve also received an immense amount of support, especially from women who have gone through IVF, who struggle with infertility.”

While disappointed by her current situation, Cooper hopes it highlights the issue of infertility among women in the USA. Sadly, Trump’s February 18 “Expanding Access to in Vitro Fertilization” executive order simply reduces the cost of treatment and hasn’t actually made it free.

One Democratic representative began an incensed rant against Elon Musk during a DOGE hearing, brutally calling out it’s leader Elon Musk in an eruption of rage.

Elon Musk‘s movement into government has been controversial to say the least, as the richest man was awarded a position as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and tasked with cutting significant spending from the federal budget.

In the several months since Musk began this new role the Department has reportedly already saved around $115,000,000,000 – a figure which has been heavily disputed by experts – in efforts that have hit many of key areas of government, including Education, Labor, Health, and more.

Job cuts have become a particular focus for Musk and his team, as an email threatening the roles of 100,000 civil service employees has been backed up by government-wide firings, which have also led to mass rehires after key individuals were ‘accidentally’ let go.

One of the DOGE’s most notable actions came in it’s first few weeks though, as employees gained access to social security and treasury information in a seemingly unprecedented move.

Rep. John Larson released a fiery rant against Musk and DOGE, calling out the richest man in the world (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

This received heavy criticism from Democratic representatives, and led to a hearing where members debated DOGE’s ability to access these records, and one veteran representative was particularly ferocious in their criticism for Musk.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Rep. John Larson (D-CT) argued that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith neglected his responsibilities when overseeing DOGE’s ability to access Social Security records and implement reform.

“Where’s the independence of the committee? Where’s the legislature?” remarked an enraged Larson.

“And yet when you look at the empty seats here, where’s Elon Musk? I’m sure he’s a genius, and is a very incredible person because of the wealth he’s accumulated, but that does not put him above the law or the responsibility to come before this committee and this congress.

“If he’s so great, if these plans and all the fraud and abuse that he’s found are so eminent, why isn’t he here explaining it? You know why, because he’s out to privatize social security.”

This brutal rant against Trump came after Chairman Smith accused the Democrats of attempting to “throw sand in the gears of the Trump Administration’s important work to expose the waste, fraud, and abuse in our government,” which Larson indicated was just ‘blathering’.

Many on social media have sided with Larson following his tirade as well, with one reply writing: “Everyone knows that Musk is the biggest liar on this platform. You can even ask Grok, his own person AI on this very platform. It will tell you that he spreads most of the disinformation on this site.”

This is in fact hilariously true, as not only has Grok accused its ‘creator’ of spreading misinformation, but it’s also acted as a fact-checker, denying his false claims that include the Biden administration’s supposed slaughter of 150 million chickens.

Ontario has cancelled its $100 million Starlink contract in response to Trump’s tariffs.

Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, announced that the province has scrapped its contract with Elon Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink.

The move was in retaliation to President Donald Trump’s trade measures against Canada, reported CBC.

Ford also announced that all US-based companies would be banned from future provincial contracts, accusing Trump of ‘choosing chaos’ over cooperation.

“It’s done, it’s gone,” Ford said, referring to the contract. “We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country.”

The decision follows the US President’s announcement of new ‘catastrophic’ tariffs on Canadian exports, including 25 percent tariffs on Canadian exports and 10 percent tariffs on Canadian energy.

Bill Pugliano / Stringer / Getty

The 60-year-old justified the move by claiming Canada, Mexico and China should be held ‘accountable for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the US.’ However, the tariffs have been delayed for a second time due to uncertainty and blowback from financial markets.

In a comment that further strained relations, Trump suggested that the only way for Canada to avoid tariffs was to become America’s 51st state.

Ford didn’t take kindly to the remark. In response, he threatened to cut off power to 1.5 million US customers and placed a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to New York, Michigan and Minnesota.

Ford said: “This is not the outcome anyone wanted. “We could have poured our efforts into making Canada and the US the two richest, most successful, safest, most secure two countries on the planet. Unfortunately, one man — President Trump — has chosen chaos instead.”

SpaceX‘s subsidiary Starlink signed a contract with Ontario in November 2023 to provide high-speed internet to 15,000 rural and remote homes by summer 2025.

Doug Ford is the Premier of Ontario / Steve Russell / Contributor / Getty

SpaceX is one of Musk’s many tech ventures, alongside his responsibilities of serving as a close ally of Trump and heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The decision to pull the plug has raised concerns for remote communities that struggle with internet access.

Sol Mamakwa, the Ontario NDP MPP for Kiiwetinoong, said the cancellation could leave many northern communities with even fewer options for connectivity.

“My initial post of it was essentially to the people that messaged me from the north in my riding on how it’s going to impact them,” Mamakwa said, adding that those who have already subscribed to Starlink will not be affected.

Elsewhere, Ontario’s liquor wholesaler and retailer has confirmed it will no longer buy or sell US alcohol. If the trade war continues, the province fears it could lead to a disaster in many Ontario industries, like auto manufacturing and steel production.

“We also need to be ready to dig in for a long fight,” Ford pointed out. “We need to be ready to escalate using every tool in our tool kit.”

The tech billionaire has been the face of the many job cuts sweeping the US news recently, but now, Elon Musk seems to be doing what he can to change public perception.

Reportedly, Musk has been working behind the scenes to convince Republican lawmakers that he isn’t the one responsible for the mass firings of federal workers, despite playing a very public role in advocating for government job cuts. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump appears to be attempting the same, telling his cabinet secretaries that hiring and firing decisions ultimately rest with them — not Musk.

Over the last two months, thousands of federal employees, including military veterans and personnel at the NOAA, have been let go, sparking outrage across the country. But even as Musk has repeatedly pushed for major cuts — going as far as to suggest that entire agencies should be scrapped — both he and Trump now seem to be shifting the narrative.

Elon Musk during Donald Trump’s inauguration (Getty Images)

This comes after Musk took part in discussions about government downsizing, answered questions alongside the president, and even wielded a chainsaw at an event as a not-so-subtle symbol of his approach.

According to the Associated Press, Musk has been meeting with lawmakers facing backlash from constituents over the job losses, reassuring them that these decisions are made by federal agencies — not him. Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who heads the House Republicans’ campaign efforts, backed this up after a private meeting with Musk in Washington, saying: “Elon doesn’t fire people.”

“He doesn’t have hiring and firing authority,” Hudson further insisted after their basement pizza meeting at the US Capitol. “The president’s empowered him to go uncover this information, that’s it.”

At the same time, Politico reports that Trump has told his cabinet that Musk’s role is strictly advisory when it comes to staffing decisions. While Musk may make recommendations, the final call supposedly rests with individual departments.

This all ties back to the creation of the “Department of Government Efficiency” — also known as DOGE, referring to the Musk-supported meme coin — an agency introduced by Trump’s administration and expanded under his second term. Musk was put in charge, tasked with cutting jobs and reducing costs across the government — a move that critics say hands enormous power to an unelected billionaire.

Trump himself has flip-flopped on the issue. Earlier this week, he addressed Congress, reaffirming that Musk is the head of DOGE, which has already been cited as evidence in lawsuits challenging the layoffs. The shoutout to the Tesla CEO was answered with an equal mix of cheers and boos, which made Musk look noticeably uncomfortable.

But on Thursday, he told his cabinet that they should take a more precise approach to job cuts. President Trump said: “I don’t want to see a big cut where a lot of good people are cut.”

That was likely due to the instances of hundreds of government employees being rehired just weeks after being impacted by DOGE’s cuts.

Despite this, Trump still left the door open for Musk to take more drastic action down the line. He added: “If they can cut, it’s better. And if they don’t cut, then Elon will do the cutting.”

As the precedent set by this unpredictable administration in the past month alone tells us, what happens next could be anyone’s guess.