Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their administration have launched an all-out assault on career government employees – and that means an all-out assault on people like you and me who rely on them to do their jobs.

You might be wondering how all of this affects your life – here’s 10 important things our civil servants do to impact us for the better:

1.Taking Care of Veterans

Hundreds of thousands of nurses, doctors, and social workers work for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide healthcare to military veterans. VA hospitals and clinics offer everything from routine checkups to specialized treatments for injuries and conditions.

2. Maintaining Our National Parks

The National Park Service (NPS) preserves and maintains some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Thanks to park rangers, conservationists, and maintenance crews, we have access to wilderness, historic sites, and educational programs in our nation’s backyard.

3. Processing Our Social Security Benefit Claims

Getting Social Security checks to tens of millions of people is a huge job. Employees at the Social Security Administration (SSA) send Americans the benefits they rely on, including retirees and people with disabilities. 

These workers handle claims, prevent fraud, and provide essential customer service to beneficiaries.

4. Working Around the Clock to Keep Air Travel Safe

Air traffic controllers, employed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), manage safe takeoffs and landings at airports across the country. 

At any given moment, an enormous team is working in a high pressure environment to help aircraft pilots navigate busy airports, preventing collisions and responding to emergencies. 

Safe, reliable air travel is something we often take for granted, and it’s due in large part to the work that air traffic controllers do.

5. Discovering New Treatments and Cures

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) do groundbreaking research to develop new diagnostic tools, treatments, and cures for diseases. 

In 2024, NIH researchers developed an accurate blood test for Alzheimer’s, discovered new ways to prevent and treat peanut allergies, and deepened our understanding of how cancer spreads. These studies help people when conventional treatments don’t work.

6. Keeping Our Workplaces Safe

Inspectors at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspect workplaces and enforce safety regulations, ensuring that workers aren’t forced into hazardous conditions. Their work has helped reduce workplace deaths by more than half since 1970, and workplace injuries by even more. 

7. Fighting Wildfires

Federal firefighters working for the Department of the Interior (DOI) risk their lives to battle the wildfires that threaten our homes, ecosystems, and communities. They respond bravely in emergencies, such as the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, and they also assist with controlled burns that help prevent fires in the first place.

8. Delivering Our Mail

United States Postal Service (USPS) workers deliver mail and packages to every corner of the country, from urban centers to the most rural areas. 

Only the USPS (not UPS, FedEx, or any other shipping company) can reach every business and residential address in the nation. Without a public postal service, many of us would have to pay a lot more to get our mail – or we just wouldn’t get it at all! 

Postal workers handle everything from prescriptions and Social Security checks to ballots and postcards. 

9. Ensuring Food Safety

Inspectors and scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversee food production, ensuring that what we eat is safe. That means testing for contaminants, enforcing labeling laws, and preventing foodborne illness outbreaks. 

This oversight can have a major impact, like in 2022, when inspectors used just four reports of illness tied to baby formula to catch insanitary conditions at a production plant that could have caused a much more widespread outbreak.

10. Building and Maintaining Roads, Bridges, & Dams

Civil engineers employed by the federal government design and oversee the construction of public infrastructure like roads, bridges, and dams. 

During emergencies, agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers jump into action. They help evacuees find safe passage out of disaster zones, protect us from toxic waste, and prevent food and water shortages. When the time comes, they also lead the efforts to build infrastructure back stronger. 

Abschluss

Federal workers do more than just push paper – they protect our safety, our health, our environment, and our quality of life. Despite political attacks against them, their work speaks for itself. The next time you receive a Social Security check, fly safely, get a letter in the mail, or visit a national park, remember that federal employees are making it all possible. 

That’s why we can’t let Donald Trump and Elon Musk succeed as they try to fire these workers and get rid of the programs that they run. Common Cause is demanding that Trump fire Elon Musk – the government should serve the people, not the wealthy few.