In early May 2025, Michaela felt a sharp pain radiate from her hip while she bent over to water some plants. Then she fell over and was unable to rise.
Her spouse called an ambulance and she spent the night in a hospital, where, at 57, she found out she had a tumor on her spine. The diagnosis was metastatic breast cancer.
"There was no indication this would occur, and I was heartbroken. At first, I wasn't fully aware that it was part of my breast cancer that had metastasized to my spine, a location is common for it to go," she explained.
"If I were to die prematurely, I could not imagine leaving [my husband] here. We have any family. We don’t have children of our own."
When Trump won the 2024 election, her spouse braced to be mandated back into the office at the Department of Transportation in Washington DC. He had worked remotely since the onset of the global pandemic, from their residence outside Baltimore.
On Trump’s first day in office on 20 January, he issued requiring all federal agencies end all telework arrangements. The office of personnel management directed agencies to implement the policy irrespective of collective bargaining contracts.
"My husband’s a veteran in government service, and he’s an expert in his field. He’s been doing this for two decades now, so it is draining for him. We are in our fifties. He was leaving the house at five o’clock in the morning and getting home at seven at night," Michaela said. Her identity is protected as her husband still works at the Department of Transportation and is concerned about retaliation.
In July, she underwent an operation, a laminectomy. Shortly following that, she had targeted radiation therapy, and is currently on an cancer treatment called Kisqali alongside hormone therapy.
She had early-stage breast cancer a decade ago, but was able to treat it, due to early detection, with a surgical procedure, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal medication. Through regular checkups, she managed her health, before her latest diagnosis of stage four metastatic breast cancer.
Surviving Job Cuts and Reorganization
Over the past year, Michaela’s husband survived layoffs at the DOT. By May, thousands of employees had left the agency, due to the cuts as well as retirements and voluntary resignations.
Per a memo on its plan for staff reductions and restructuring, the agency estimated that by December 31, 2025, its workforce would be reduced by one-fifth from levels at the start of the year.
This translates to over ten thousand fewer employees at the Department of Transportation. Federal employee cuts have surpassed targets, with a significant number of workers leaving the government and only a fraction of new hires.
"We were concerned about layoffs. It is clear based on the way this administration functions, that this is always on the table because policies disregard the law," Michaela explained.
She added that jobs for specializations at the agency are hard to come by and private firms often want to pay reduced wages.
Enduring a Federal Closure
While the DOT was losing staff, on October 1st a shutdown of the U.S. government began, lasting for 43 days, the longest in US history.
Michaela and her husband celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary in early November, while the shutdown continued, but remained home because they couldn’t afford to dine out due to her husband not being paid for multiple weeks.
She is thankful the government shutdown ended as she was worried about medical bills, but laments the increases in healthcare premiums she and her husband have experienced, and for those who rely on insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
"I felt hopeless. I felt impoverished. I was astonished, scared, and I watched my husband and on several occasions where he was sitting at his desk and he gazed out the window. He was getting depressed," she said.
A Personal Offense
"We are merely one example in a ocean of millions people who strive diligently to get where they are, who attempt to do the right thing, and those who are making all the decisions are seemingly dismantling and managing the government and treating government employees like adversaries, that they are lesser citizens, and that they should be attacked. I find this personally offensive to that," she said.
A Looming Threat
Her current concern is a potential approaching government shutdown in late January, with the bulk of federal funds set to lapse again without a long-term deal.
"The temporary funding measure is up for renewal again on the 30th of January and I am thinking this is going to happen all over again. We have endured multiple closures. This was decidedly the worst," she stated. "I’m already battling a life-threatening illness, and I am uncertain where it’s going to take me. I may survive for a couple more years. I could be here for a decade."
