Anxiety Grows Among Federal Employees Amid Fears of Surveillance and Job Security

By
Joe Killer
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UJ
 — 

As the Trump administration lays off thousands of employees within various federal agencies, federal workers are also facing heightened anxiety due to Elon Musk’s “government efficiency” team’s extensive access to agency computer networks.

The sudden presence of DOGE representatives throughout Washington agencies, alongside the administration’s pursuit of federal employees deemed disloyal, has generated considerable apprehension among employees, fearing that their emails, messages, or conversations might be under surveillance.

Some federal employees are opting to turn off their phones while at home, while others prefer face-to-face discussions at work over using platforms like Microsoft Teams. A few have even purchased specialized Faraday bags to block electromagnetic signals, attempting to evade potential monitoring. Additionally, some are printing out their employee records and performance evaluations as a precaution against deletion or modification within the federal systems.

Their anxieties are fueled by a president who openly discusses retaliation against perceived adversaries, making even harmless remarks susceptible to misinterpretation as anti-Trump sentiments.

“I used to carry my work phone around everywhere; after hours, on weekends, just in case anything was needed. Now, I don’t take it out of my office,” shared an employee from the General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for government procurement.

UJ spoke with over a dozen federal employees from more than five agencies, all expressing feelings of fear and paranoia, not only about the heightened risk of job loss, but also concerning possible covert surveillance.

Demonstrators rally against Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency in front of the US Treasury Department in Washington, DC, on February 4.

It remains uncertain how much monitoring practices for employees may have shifted under the current Trump administration. Various programs that employ both software and personnel to detect “insider threats” or unauthorized access to sensitive information began to proliferate during the Obama era, particularly following the revelations by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

“DOGE is upholding President Trump’s pledge to enhance accountability and efficiency within the government, while fundamentally ensuring responsible management of taxpayers’ hard-earned money,” stated a White House official in an emailed response. The official did not comment on whether any changes to policies or practices concerning federal employee surveillance have been made.

“Those at the helm of this initiative with Elon Musk are acting fully within the bounds of federal law, with appropriate security clearances, and are doing so as agency employees rather than as external consultants or entities,” the White House official added.

Nevertheless, rampant speculation among federal workers asserts that their online communications on platforms like Microsoft Teams are being monitored by higher-ups. These concerns are already influencing their behaviors.

“Does the truth matter if everyone believes otherwise?” pondered another federal worker. “Legally, it does, but from a psychological perspective, if the goal is to intimidate, they may already be succeeding.”

Elon Musk discusses his federal cost-reduction efforts while US President Donald Trump observes in the Oval Office of the White House on February 11.

The fact that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency reports directly to the White House chief of staff has only intensified these fears.

Last week, the GSA attempted to alleviate concerns by stating that the agency “has no plans to surveil employees.”

For some within the federal workforce, the feeling of being monitored remains pervasive. “There is an ongoing sensation that we are under watch,” one employee from the Department of Veterans Affairs relayed to UJ.

Consequently, this VA employee has refrained from using their work computer to access news sites during their lunch break and is cautious about using their personal mobile device while connected to the office WiFi. They have considered covering their computer’s camera to prevent unwanted observation and have taken to speaking quietly and walking away from their desk if they need to discuss any topics that could be interpreted as critical of the administration.

When asked whether they believed they were being recorded at work, the VA employee remarked, “It’s very improbable, but is it impossible? No … like, did you ever think that a 19-year-old named Big Balls would be able to access information at the State Department?”

The technological proficiency of Elon Musk and his DOGE team has similarly raised alarms within the Department of Education, as noted by one employee. “Every technical issue we experience raises the question: are we genuinely being paranoid, or is this the result of some insidious action?”

According to a court document within a lawsuit filed by a student association contesting DOGE’s access to the department, there are six federal employees currently at the Department of Education who are part of DOGE. They have accessed the department’s IT systems related to student loans as part of an audit aimed at detecting waste, fraud, and abuse.

Department of Homeland Security officers restrict access to the US Agency for International Development headquarters in Washington, DC, on February 3, the same day Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted he is in charge of the agency.

Some State Department employees have reportedly been advised by their superiors that DOGE may have a “deep reach” into the department’s systems. Several employees received notifications on their mobile devices while at work stating: “Your organization installed a certificate authority in your work profile. Your secure network traffic may be monitored or modified,” as evidenced by a screenshot of the message shared with UJ.

UJ has reached out to the State Department for comments.

A federal worker in Nevada has begun to be more cautious with the language they use in Microsoft Teams chats. “I avoid using terms that stand out as if you were employing a language model to detect specific words,” they noted, making a reference to artificial intelligence.

At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, employees no longer jot down meeting notes in Google Docs, as one employee relayed to UJ. Leaders have encouraged the use of offline applications like Microsoft Word, with a “clean version” being uploaded later that excludes trigger words like “climate change.”

“For the first time in ten years, people prefer to talk on the phone instead of holding online meetings or taking notes,” the employee stated. “We’re this paranoid.”

UJ’s Katie Bo Lillis and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.