I wish the people fighting for Federal employees in 2025 would have fought for me in 2021 (Opinion)

In 2021, I remember strongly advocating for Federal employees and contractors not to be fired from their jobs, especially after my COVID vaccine injury. I don’t remember many left-leaning voters and politicians advocating to protect employees from being fired then, so I was very surprised with all the recent push in 2025 from the left to protect Federal employees and contractors from termination under the Trump administration.

On February 14th, 2025, Senator Alsobrooks (D-MD) sent out an email requesting whistleblower complaints from constituents regarding wrongdoing of the Federal government. I being injured by the COVID vaccine due to Federal requirements for employees and contractors, reached out to Alsobrooks with my story. A few days ago I received a response which not only completely ignored my vaccine injury, but took the opportunity to tell me how terrible a job Alsobrooks believes that the Trump administration is doing, pretending to have read my email without even acknowledging any of its contents.

The full text of Alsobrooks’ response is below.

Dear Ken,

Thank you for contacting me about the actions of the current Administration. As your Senator, I refuse to allow our democracy and our institutions to be attacked through illegal actions from the executive branch or have programs critical to our state be undermined by cuts to funding.

From day one, I have committed to fighting for policies that reflect our shared values of expanding economic opportunity, lowering costs, protecting fundamental rights, and ensuring that every Marylander has a fair shot at success. Unfortunately, in just the first few weeks of the 119th Congress, we have seen the Trump administration recklessly take dangerous steps that harm our communities.

Federal employees, many of whom serve right here in Maryland, are facing uncertainty as the Administration pushes for cuts and reorganization efforts that undermine their job security. A freeze on federal grants has stalled funding for critical programs like Head Start, research at the National Institutes of Health, and Community Health Centers. On top of this, we’ve seen troubling efforts to weaken our public and higher education system and limit resources for essential health programs. 

In the Senate, I have been working with my colleagues to push back against these harmful policies and advance solutions that put people first by taking direct action. I joined my colleagues and sent a letter demanding answers from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Head Start on the status of critical early childhood education programs and research funding. I shared my serious concerns with the Administration that their proposed “buyout” program could force seniors to wait longer for Social Security benefits and joined colleagues in calling for hearings on alarming reports that officials tied to Elon Musk and the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” have gained access to federal payment systems. I’ve stood with workers and health care providers to defend Medicaid, met with nurses concerned about cuts to public health programs, and took to the Senate floor to oppose dangerous nominees. These fights are tough, but Marylanders are speaking up and I am listening. My focus remains on delivering results, and I will continue fighting for the progress we all believe in. 

I encourage you to stay in touch with my office and share your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. If you ever need assistance navigating federal resources, my team and I are here to help. You can visit my website at https://www.alsobrooks.senate.gov or call my office at 202-224-4524 for support.

It is an honor to represent you in the United States Senate, and I hope you won’t hesitate to contact me again if I can be of further assistance. 

Sincerely,

ANGELA ALSOBROOKS
United States Senator

Quite honestly, I’m very disheartened by this tone-deaf response from Senator Alsobrooks. Instead of taking the opportunity to try and help out a constituent in need she uses her response to engage in more political posturing. Alsobrooks talks about “putting people first”, but apparently I’m not one of the people she’s including in that category.

I also reached out to Congress Representative Delaney, who at least appears to have read my letter, but then classified it as a “workers compensation” claim stating that she can’t respond due to House ethics rules. At least she provided some resources in an attempt to be helpful, which was much more help than her predecessor David Trone ever did when I reached out to him about the same issue.

Dear Mr. Buckler,

Thank you for contacting my office regarding your issues with your denied worker’s compensation claim. Unfortunately, per House Ethics Rules, my office cannot intervene or advise in any legal matter. I would recommend that you contact an attorney to follow up on your issue.

If you are not now represented by an attorney and you’d like contact one, feel free to contact the Maryland Legal Aid for Western Maryland at (888) 465-2468 (linked here), or utilize the “For The Public” page of the Maryland Bar Association (linked here).

I regret that my office is unable to further assist in resolving your important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if we may be of help in the future. I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter to stay up to date on my work on behalf of Maryland’s Sixth District. If you need further assistance, please call my office at (301) 926-0300.

Sincerely,
April McClain Delaney
Member of Congress

For those of you who did not speak out in 2021, but are speaking out now, why are you only speaking out now? Why didn’t you speak up before I was forced to take a vaccine which was rushed through testing, and has recorded millions of associated adverse events in VAERS?

If you didn’t speak out against forcing Federal employees and contractors to take the COVID vaccine or lose their jobs, then you don’t actually care about Federal employees or contractors losing their jobs, you’re simply engaging in political posturing, because you don’t like the administration that’s doing it.

I struggle a lot right now, with trying to have sympathy for Federal employees losing their jobs, because so few people speaking out in 2025 had sympathy for me in 2021. I want to have sympathy, I try to have sympathy, but it’s extremely hard because of how I was treated, and how I’m still treated. Do you realize that to this day people still laugh at me when I tell them I’m still struggling with adverse effects of the vaccine? Imagine what kind of cold-hearted person it takes to laugh at someone struggling with a medical condition. That lack of sympathy towards me has affected my own heart, and I have a much more cynical view when it comes to Federal employment and contracting, and that’s truly a shame.

But the good news is, it’s not too late. Since you’re so concerned about Federal employees and contractors, while you’re at it please contact your representatives and ask they do something to help those of us who were negatively affected by the COVID vaccine, especially those of us who had to choose between taking the COVID vaccine and losing out jobs. Maybe you’ll get a better response than I did.

Opinion article by Ken Buckler, President and Editor of RFHC. All opinions are his own, and do not reflect those of our clients or sponsors.

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