On 13 February, a research entomologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was among the first, receiving an email after the close of business hours saying they were being “removed” from what they describe as a dream job, studying a key problem in agriculture science. The change had gone into effect 14 minutes before the email arrived. “The letter said I was being let go due to poor performance, which is nonsensical since they invited me to apply for a promotion just the other month,” the stunned researcher says.

Thousands of other federal scientists were similarly shocked over subsequent days as President Donald Trump’s administration unleashed a massive, unprecedented, and chaotic wave of firings across the U.S. government. The job losses—guided by the White House’s semiofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) run by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk—struck tens of thousands of workers. Most were among some 200,000 probationary workers in the 2.4 million person federal workforce—people who had recently been hired or transferred to a new position, and enjoyed fewer job protections. The layoffs decimated the foot soldiers of many health and science agencies, sweeping up early-career scientists as well as old hands in new positions. Scores of scientists working […]