After Request from Warren and Senators, Government Watchdog Opens Investigation into How Trump’s Purge of Workers Harms Americans’ Health and Safety

Response from GAO (PDF)
Washington, D.C. –Following arequest fromU.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) agreed to open an investigation into how the Trump administration’s firing of probationary federal workers will impact Americans’ health and safety.
Thousands of these recently fired federal employees were responsible for protecting Americans’ health and safety, across areas like air travel, flood and wildfire response, infectious disease control, nuclear safety, veterans’ healthcare and benefits, food safety, and managing the opioid epidemic.
In recent weeks, courts have ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary employees, only for many of the employees to bereinstated and immediately placedon administrative leave, still leaving the health and safety of Americans at risk.
On March 6, 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren led 10 Democratic senators inwriting to the Government Accountability Officerequesting an investigation into how the recent mass firings of probationary federal workers have impacted Americans’ health and safety.
“GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority,”wrote agency officials, noting that the work would begin “shortly.” GAO’s investigation is set to investigate how the recent firings of probationary federal workers affect the health and safety of Americans.
Senator Warren has been a leader in standing up for federal workers amidst Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s government takeover:
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