As the federal government appeared headed for a shutdown early last week, Jenna Norton joined a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol to urge lawmakers not to be cowed by the Trump administration's threat of mass layoffs.
"As a federal worker, I am here to tell you that every awful thing that would happen in a shutdown — shuttering programs that Americans rely on, damaging our economy, firing federal workers — all of this is already happening," said Norton, a program director with the National Institutes of Health, who spoke in her personal capacity alongside other civil servants.
Noting that the Supreme Court has largely allowed the Trump administration to move forward with its agenda, Norton called on lawmakers to step in.
"Congress is the only remaining chance we have to stop the gutting of public services Americans depend on," she said.
Now furloughed, Norton continues to implore members of Congress to reject a spending deal that maintains the status quo. Instead, she hopes they'll use the moment to assert their constitutional authority — their power of the purse — to take back control of government spending.
"They accepted a position of power and privilege of representing the American people," Norton said in an interview with NPR. "If they're serious about doing that, they need to stand up and represent the American people and push back against a president who wants to be king."
Shining a light on what has already happened
Almost a week into the shutdown, an estimated 750,000 federal employees are furloughed. Far more, including members of the U.S. military, are working without pay.
Meanwhile, President Trump, his budget director Russell Vought and other administration officials have reiterated threats of mass layoffs and program cuts, going so far as to announce a halt to federal projects largely affecting states led by Democrats. On Sunday night, Trump insisted that layoffs were already underway.
"That's taking place right now, and it's all because of the Democrats," Trump told reporters outside the White House, without offering specifics as to which departments had initiated staffing cuts.
NPR has not learned of any layoffs due to the shutdown since Congressional appropriations lapsed on Oct. 1, although many federal agencies have filed reorganization and reduction-in-force plans with the administration as a result of a February executive order and subsequent guidance directing them to do so.
Norton fears she could be laid off during the shutdown or fired for speaking out. NIH staff have previously been told not to speak with the media, and many of the federal employees NPR has spoken with about the current administration do not want to be identified by name, fearing retaliation.
Still, Norton believes she not only has a right to speak out on matters of public interest, she has an obligation to put up a red flag when she sees harm. And right now, she says, the situation inside the government is far worse than most Americans realize.
"I feel like I have this front row seat to the destruction of our democracy. We are seeing it in real time with a president who is asking us to do things that are illegal and harmful to the American public," she said.
In response, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Americans were being harmed by Democrats — and federal workers like Norton who oppose the president.
"President Trump was elected by a resounding majority of Americans to carry out the agenda he is implementing," Jackson wrote in a statement to NPR. "Federal workers who are actively resisting the Trump agenda are, in reality, working against the American people who elected the President."
Funding for research into health disparities has been cut
Norton's work at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of NIH, is focused on health disparities. She oversees research grants aimed at figuring out why some communities are harder hit by kidney disease than others and what can be done about it.
She notes that Black people are four times more likely to progress from the early stages of kidney disease to the end stage, where either dialysis or a transplant is necessary for survival.
She points out that developing interventions to improve health outcomes not only saves lives, it also saves the government money. Anyone who requires dialysis is covered by Medicare at substantial cost to taxpayers, Norton says.
And yet, early this year, the Trump administration canceled hundreds of NIH grants as part of its purge of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts across the government. Norton was told grants in her portfolio were terminated because they used certain terms the administration had flagged, such as "structural racism."
Grantees sued, and U.S. District Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, sided with them, finding the terminations unlawful.
"I've never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable," Young said during a June 16 hearing, according to a court transcript. "I've sat on this bench now for 40 years, I've never seen government racial discrimination like this."
The Trump administration appealed and eventually asked the Supreme Court to step in. Without hearing arguments, a conservative majority on the court vacated the key part of Judge Young's order, finding the grantees should have brought their case in the Court of Federal Claims.
Layoffs at NIH targeted communications staff
Mass layoffs of some 1,300 employees at NIH announced in the spring followed a similar pattern. As part of a broader ruling, a lower court judge found the layoffs were probably illegal. Then, the Supreme Court stepped in and allowed the layoffs to continue, for now.
That paved the way to a gutting of NIH's policy staff, who liaise with Congress, and its communications teams — essentially, their doorway to communicate with the public, Norton says. Without those colleagues, her team is unable to update its website to post meeting minutes or research discoveries.
Norton says she understands why the Trump administration would want to control information coming out of the agencies.
"Because information is power," she says. "To me, this isn't really a partisan Democrats versus Republicans issue. This is a democracy versus autocracy issue."
A reminder of her oath
On her left wrist, Norton wears a set of Taylor Swift-style friendship bracelets. Instead of song titles or lyrics, the bracelets spell out "Support the Constitution" and "NIH" along with other federal agencies.
They were a gift from a former colleague worried about what's happening within the government.
"They're just a little memento of our commitment to our oath of office, which is to serve the constitution and to serve the American people," Norton says.
They're also a daily reminder of why she's choosing to speak out. It hasn't been easy. She knows many Americans don't share her view of the current administration, including some members of her own family.
"My parents voted for Trump, so I understand that people who support Trump aren't bad people, and they want the same things that I want," she says, including things like financial stability and opportunities for their kids.
Norton also wants her kids to grow up in a world where they can speak freely. She worries that's no longer a guarantee.
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