Gavin Kliger screams at federal workers to expedite mass firings

In the United States, a significant incident occurred involving Gavin Kliger, an employee associated with the Department of Government Efficiency under Elon Musk. This incident took place at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where Kliger is accused of pressuring federal employees during an extensive 36-hour shift. The team was reportedly assigned to issue termination notices to a substantial portion of the workforce, with plans to let go 90 percent of the staff. During this relentless work period, Kliger allegedly berated and yelled at team members to hasten the process of firing around 1,500 employees. Testimonies indicated that Kliger dismissed a court order that mandated an individual assessment of employees before making layoffs. Instead, he insisted that the termination notices be sent out by a set deadline, describing the workers as incompetent if they failed to meet expectations. Legal matters complicated the situation when a federal judge intervened and paused the layoffs, asserting that the rapidity of the firings did not align with legal requirements. The judge noted the crucial need for assessments to ensure compliance with existing statutory responsibilities of the CFPB. This incident follows broader efforts by the Trump administration to adjust federal workforce regulations, streamlining processes to ease firings of civil servants. The administration aims to classify numerous federal employees as “at-will,” a move expected to affect thousands of federal employees and strip them of protections against dismissal. Such sweeping changes contribute to a contentious political landscape, with significant implications for the future of federal employment stability and the functioning of government agencies.