Kennedy Relatives Say DOGE Cuts Forced Temporary Closure of J.F.K. Library
The New York Times
The cuts affected five probationary employees, a relative said. The Trump administration has targeted such workers for firing across the federal government.
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston was abruptly closed to visitors on Tuesday, and the federal agency that operates the site did not provide any explanation for the sudden disruption.
Members of the Kennedy family said that Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency had fired members of the library’s staff, forcing the temporary closure.
Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, wrote in a social media post that an official with the National Archives and Records Administration, which oversees presidential libraries, had instructed the Kennedy Library to fire probationary staff members.
“This is a direct attack on our past to rewrite a new future — yet another example of stealing history from the American people,” Mr. Schlossberg wrote in a statement. “It has nothing to do with government efficiency.”
Joe Kennedy III, a former U.S. representative for Massachusetts and a grandnephew of John F. Kennedy, told WBZ-TV in Boston that five employees had been terminated.
Mr. Kennedy said the fired employees had been responsible for the library’s day-to-day operations and that after they had been let go, the library had to be cleared of visitors and closed.
