In a surreal moment, Elon Musk, who heads the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE), pranced around on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week in oversized sunglasses, a black gothic MAGA hat, a thick gold chain around his neck—and wielding a chainsaw that the unelected billionaire wants to use figuratively to cut down the size of the US government. 

In the wake of the chaotic and apparently indiscriminate firing of federal employees, Musk and his questionably legal department have begun to face pushback from those affected. 

The Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA) has written the Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington State congressional delegations expressing its “strong opposition to federal employee cuts being implemented by DOGE. Specifically, the letter signed by Neil Maunu, Executive Director of the PNWA, opposes plans to fire thousands of critical employees of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)  who are vital to the entire region’s safety, efficiency, and economic vitality. 

DOGE intends to fire over 2,000 USACE employees nationwide who are on “probationary status” (hired in a role for less than a year, and in some cases 2 years). The PNWA has been told that well-over 600 of those employees are located in the Northwestern Division (NWD), which is headquartered in Portland, OR, and oversees 5 districts (Portland, Seattle, Walla Walla, Omaha, and Kansas City). The vast majority of USACE NWD employees are associated with the Seattle, Portland, and Walla Walla Districts. Several thousand additional employees have elected to take the Deferred Resignation Plan (DRP) and will be placed on paid leave beginning March 1st.

PNWA has over 150 members, including ports, barge companies, steamship operators, grain elevator operators, agricultural producers, electric utilities, irrigation districts, cruise lines, and union labor throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The association supports projects to advance and protect the region’s navigation infrastructure, freight mobility, economic health, and the environment. We advocate for federal funding, policies, and projects that benefit our membership and the region – supporting federal agencies like USACE in their ability to perform critical life safety and economic
functions.

The letter goes on to say:

“USACE is unlike any other federal agency – they recruit, train, and retain the nation’s best engineers, program managers, operators, maintainers, environmental scientists, conservationists and more. It can take years, and sometimes decades, for a USACE employee to gain the experience necessary to be successful in their field. Losing these employees will dramatically affect the Corps’ ability to execute their mission safely and effectively.”

“Just two weeks from now, USACE is planning a lock-outage to conduct major maintenance on the majority of dams and navigation locks on the Columbia-Snake River system. This well-coordinated and planned effort costs tens of millions of dollars and is absolutely critical to ensure the Congressionally-authorized federal navigation channel remains a vital supply chain link to our nation.”

“PNWA strongly urges that the federal firing of USACE employees, and other federal employees critical to the safety and operation of a wide range of infrastructure in our region, be halted immediately,” says the letter. “We are deeply concerned that this process will negatively impact the safe operations and maintenance of normal U.S. Army Corps functions; hydropower generation, flood control, navigation, irrigation, recreation, and more. Millions of Pacific NW residents are at risk due to this shortsighted approach.

“USACE employees are not just another cog in the wheel of unnecessary bureaucracy, they are the experts our nation relies on to ensure our federal infrastructure is safe, productive, efficient, and predictable – our USACE partners need help. The USACE facilitates economic trade and growth – losing key people today will have an adverse effect on the safety and efficiency of this system and all who rely on it for decades.”

Thanks to Roberta Weisbrod for contributing to this post.