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In early May 2025, Michaela experienced a sudden, stabbing ache shoot from her hip while she bent over to water some plants. She collapsed and couldn’t get back up.

Her husband called an ambulance and she was admitted in a hospital, where, in her late fifties, doctors discovered she had a mass on her spine. It was metastatic breast cancer.

"I had no warning that that was going to happen, and I was heartbroken. At first, I didn’t clearly understand that it was a recurrence of my breast cancer that had metastasized to my spine, which I learned is common for it to go," she said.

"If I were to die prematurely, I cannot bear the thought of leaving [my husband] here. We have any family. We don’t have children of our own."

When Trump won the 2024 election, Michaela’s husband prepared to be forced to return to in-person work at the DOT 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, an executive order was signed demanding all federal agencies terminate all telework arrangements. Federal personnel officials directed agencies to enact the order despite collective bargaining contracts.

"My husband’s a veteran with the administration, and he is highly skilled in his field. He’s been doing this for 20 years more now, so it is draining for him. We’re in our 50s. 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 agency and fears retaliation.

During the summer, Michaela had surgery, a laminectomy. Shortly following that, she had targeted radiation therapy, and is now taking an oncology regimen called Kisqali and hormone therapy.

She was previously diagnosed with stage one breast cancer a decade ago, but successfully treated it, as it was caught early, with a partial lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy and tamoxifen. With consistent monitoring, she managed her health, prior to her latest diagnosis of advanced metastatic breast cancer.

Navigating Reductions in Force and Restructuring

Over the past year, Michaela’s husband avoided layoffs at the DOT. By May, nearly 2,800 employees had departed the department, due to the cuts as well as retirements and voluntary resignations.

According to a memo on its plan for staff reductions and reorganization, the agency estimated that by the end of next year, its staffing levels would be reduced by one-fifth from levels at the start of the year.

This translates to more than 10,000 reduced staff at the Department of Transportation. Federal employee cuts have surpassed targets, with hundreds of thousands of workers leaving the government and a small number of replacements.

"We were concerned about layoffs. We understand given the way this administration functions, that this remains a constant threat because policies disregard the law," Michaela explained.

She noted that specialized positions at the agency are difficult to find and contractors often want to pay lower salaries.

Facing a Government Shutdown

As the Department of Transportation was shedding employees, on 1 October a shutdown of the federal government began, continuing for 43 days, the longest in US history.

Michaela and her husband celebrated their 18th anniversary in early November, while the shutdown continued, but stayed at home because finances prevented them to dine out due to her husband going without a paycheck for multiple weeks.

She is thankful the federal closure ended as she was worried about healthcare costs, but laments the increases in healthcare premiums she and her husband have experienced, as well as for those who rely on insurance through the ACA exchanges.

"I felt hopeless. I felt impoverished. I felt flabbergasted, frightened, and I observed my husband and on several occasions where he was sitting at his desk and he was just staring out the window. He was getting depressed," she said.

A Personal Offense

"We’re just one drop in a ocean of millions people who work so hard to achieve their positions, who attempt to do the correct thing, and the people who are setting policy are just ransacking and leading the government and viewing federal workers like they are enemies, that they are not citizens, and that they deserve targeting. And I take personal offense to that," she expressed.

Future Uncertainty

She is now worried is a potential looming government shutdown on 30 January 2026, with the bulk of government funding set to expire again absent a permanent agreement.

"The temporary funding measure is up for renewal again on the 30th of January and I fear this will repeat all over again. We have endured several shutdowns. This was decidedly the most severe," she said. "I’m already battling a serious disease, and I am uncertain what the future holds. I could be here for a couple more years. I could be here for 10 years."