Then-President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address in 2022. When President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, laid-off federal workers will be in the galleries as guests of Democratic lawmakers. (Photo by Adam Schultz/Biden White House)
One was a cancer researcher. Another searched for health insurance fraud. A third was a biologist.
Tuesday night, they will all be sending a message to President Donald Trump, even though none of them will say a word.
Those three Maryland residents will be the guests of their Democratic representatives when Trump gives the first address of his second term to a joint session of Congress. All are former federal workers who lost their jobs in the six weeks since Trump took office and began slashing federal employment.
Four of Maryland’s other Democratic members — Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and Reps. Sarah Elfreth (3rd) and Steny Hoyer (5th) — are bringing pro-federal labor union or advocacy leaders guests.
“Until February, I had my dream job within the NIH [National Institutes of Health], at the National Cancer Institute’s comparative oncology program, studying how a cancer commonly found in pet dogs could be used to better understand a rare and aggressive pediatric cancer,” said a statement from Dr. Lauren McGee, who was laid off from the Department of Health and Human Services.
“I hope sharing my story helps in the fight against these illegal mass firings disrupting people’s lives and hurting medical research,” said McGee, who will be a guest of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th).
List of confirmed delegation guests:
- Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-2nd): Katie Stahl, formerly of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd): Rob Shriver, the former acting director of the Office of Personnel Management who is now managing director of Democracy Forward’s Civil Service Strong
- Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th): Everett Kelley, American Federation of Government Employees National President
- Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6th): Matthew Fessler, formerly of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th): Dr. Lauren McGee, formerly of the Department of Health and Human Services
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.): Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward
- Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.): Ottis Johnson Jr., AFGE District 14 National Vice President
Raskin’s office said McGee had received a perfect evaluation on her most recent performance review, but fell victim to the Trump administration’s “purge” of federal agencies.
“Dr. McGee’s story reminds us of the devastating consequences for all Americans when President Trump and Elon Musk indiscriminately attack public health authorities,” Raskin said in a statement. “Her unceremonious discharge hurts all the current and future patients depending on her research for medical progress.”
The Maryland delegation guests are part of a larger Democratic effort to bring people who have been harmed by the Trump administration.
“We all said that we should highlight the impact on, and uplift stories of, people in our district,” Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6th) said.
McClain Delaney is bringing Matthew Fessler, a laid-off health insurance specialist who was at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Fessler’s role, prior to being let go, was to measure “improper payment methods within the Medicare Part D program.”
“While Musk and the Trump administration talked about eliminating waste, fraud and abuse,” McClain Delaney said, “Matthew, in fact, was one of those people who was hired to really target inaccurate payment measures and make sure that our government dollars were used wisely.”
Fessler said he received a notice on Feb. 15 that said he was being let go “due to [his] performance not being adequate, and [he] did not have the knowledge, skills and abilities” needed by the agency, despite being given a performance review roughly a month prior noting his “outstanding results.”
“The future is definitely murky,” Fessler said Tuesday. “I don’t know what my future holds for me, but I’m trying to take it one day at a time and be as positive about it as I can be.”
Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-2nd) has chosen to bring Katie Stahl, a constituent who was recently laid off from her position at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. At the time of her dismissal, Stahl was on probationary status due to receiving a promotion.
“I’m sad to lose my job and leave behind the farmers, coworkers and projects I was working on,” Stahl said in a statement. “I’m now facing the reality of unemployment and a tough job market, especially in the conservation field.
“I think it’s important for Americans to know that there will be unintended consequences of these blanket layoffs, not only for employees but also folk like farmers,” she said.
Van Hollen, who tapped Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman as his guest, said in a statement that Perryman and the group she heads are “on the front lines of the efforts to fight back in court against the torrent of illegal actions by Trump and Musk.”
The remaining two Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation, Rep. Glenn Ivey (4th) and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (7th), are sending a message of their own – by choosing not to attend the speech.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are destroying the state of the union,” Mfume said in a statement. “So, I don’t need to be there to watch him claim otherwise.”
The sole Republican in the delegation, 1st District Rep. Andy Harris, did not respond to a request for comment on whether or not he is bringing a guest.
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