'Betrayal': Disabled veteran slams 'inhumane' firing by Trump administration

19 February

Screengrab/CNN

Workers are caught in the crosshairs as the Trump administration looks to slash funding throughout the federal government. Chelsea Milburn, a disabled veteran, was fired from her job as a probationary employee with the Department of Education last week. She shared her story with CNN’s Pamela Brown on Wednesday.

Milburn, who served 11 years in the Navy, said she was disqualified from her time in the military due to her disability.

“So when I started this job with the Department of Education, it felt like getting that piece of myself back to be able to continue to serve just in a new way. So this loss is it, it's financial stress, but it's also more than that for me,” she said.

As for next steps, she is filing for unemployment, looking for work, and exploring legal options. She clarified that she was not laid off; she was fired, despite positive feedback on her work.

“They used a process that is intended for individual and performance-based firings as a means to downsize and get rid of thousands of people ... that's important for unemployment, for future employment, especially for future employment within the government. If it had been a layoff, they would have acknowledged that it wasn't our fault. And I know that most of the people that I've talked to, like myself, have never gotten any negative feedback about their performance.”

Milburn said the firings were especially troubling for veterans in the federal workforce.

“This really feels like a betrayal in some sense, and that they didn't consider how this impacts people, and especially the 30 percent of the federal workforce that have served on active duty,” she said.

“I served my country for 11 years, nine of them on active duty,” Milburn added. “I deployed twice. I spent so much time away from my family. I was gone when my mom passed away, and I missed that to serve my country, and I was excited to continue serving in this capacity, and they not only tore that out from under my feet, but couldn't even just grant me a layoff. And instead placed the blame on me that it was my performance, and I've gotten nothing but positive reviews on that.”

“So I feel very much like the message is that my service isn’t valued," she continued. "They don't care about how this impacts me or people like me, and to me, it's inhumane. It feels like they're ignoring our personhood and not respecting us as human beings or as American citizens.”

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