‘It’s just devastating’: Federal workers grapple with canceled health insurance, bungled benefits after Trump’s layoff chaos

Current and former federal employees are struggling to get their workplace benefits amid President Donald Trump’s chaotic efforts to reduce the size of the US government.

It was Easter Sunday, and an IRS agent in Atlanta found herself driving her son to the hospital because he was having a severe allergic reaction. But her son’s well-being wasn’t the only issue that day: She also didn’t have health insurance. Her coverage hadn’t been restored yet, even though she had been reinstated to her job at the Internal Revenue Service, after getting fired in February as part of the Trump administration’s mass federal layoffs. “I went straight to the emergency room,” she told CNN. “I knew I didn’t have insurance, but I didn’t want to take the chance. At that point, you’re not thinking about health insurance.” It took two months — and countless calls to customer service — for her health coverage to come back online. Meanwhile, she was hit with a $3,300 bill for the Easter visit to the ER. She is one of several current and former federal employees who are struggling to get their workplace benefits, including health insurance and pension payments, amid President Donald Trump’s chaotic efforts to reduce the size of the US government, according to documents reviewed by CNN and interviews with more than half a dozen affected workers. It’s not clear how widespread these issues are. But federal workers who spoke to CNN, who have worked at three separate agencies, described a bureaucratic nightmare as they navigate depleted human resources offices and try to minimize the disruptions to their daily lives. CNN has reported on the many other ways Trump’s efforts to slash and revamp government agencies have prompted widespread confusion and uncertainty among federal workers.