As a biting spring wind whipped around them, staffers waited for as long as an hour outside the health department's Washington offices to get scanned into the building.
As many as 10,000 workers are expected to lose their jobs Tuesday and some are finding out as they try to enter the building that they no longer have jobs. Laid off staffers are being asked to immediately turn in their badges and cellphones at the door.
One staffer waiting in line loudly joked: "Is this an April Fool's joke?"
Hundreds of Department of Health and Human Services employees waited in line in the cold on Tuesday. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/ Reuters
Photo by Kevin Lamarque/ Reuters
HHS employee Julie Siegel was denied access to the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building and had her badge taken away on April 1, 2025. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/ Reuters
HHS employees hug each other as they wait outside the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/ Reuters