Accessibility is a personal issue for me: In early 2025, I was working for NOAA as a Presidential Management Fellow. I worked hard to earn that opportunity, and I was proud to get to do work that I loved. That all changed with Elon Musk and DOGE. A few weeks after DOGE began cutting programs, my department received word that there would be major downsizing and that we should consider work elsewhere. I was distraught. This was my livelihood, that I’d worked hard to earn and loved doing. I wasn’t going to sit by and let the world’s richest man take food from my family’s bellies.

I did what we’re told to do as citizens in a democracy. I called my representative, John Rose, at each of his offices multiple times a day for weeks, begging him to do something to stop me from losing my job. Eventually, after I had already lost my job, I got a copy-and-paste response email that said nothing and did even less. At the end of that email, someone had added a blurb about all the things John Rose has done for veterans. As a veteran, who John Rose did nothing to help when I was being put out of my career, I was insulted. That’s when I decided to take action.

I wish I could say that my story is unique and my circumstances are strange, but I can’t. If I listed the names of people I personally know who lost qualified positions because of this administration, I’d need a second website. I’ve heard from so many people like me, who needed help from their government and begged and pleaded for assistance, and were ignored.

What do people want to be done to make their government and lives more accessible?

• Make voting more accessible
• Make accessing healthcare more accessible for veterans
• Expand the House of Representatives and make the democratic process more democratic
• Restrict private insurance companies ability to deny claims
• Increase access to women’s reproductive healthcare

Elect representatives who show up for all the people they represent