A Department of Agriculture employee says she was stunned to learn she would be fired for appearing on MSNBC, a decision that has set off anger inside the agency and raised questions about whether the shutdown was being used to silence workers. According to The Washington Post, Ellen Mei was told she would lose her job thirty days after the shutdown ended because she spoke publicly about how the lapse in government funding was affecting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The SNAP program, widely known as food stamps, was one of the most contentious issues as Republicans and Democrats battled over how to move forward. The suspension of benefits pushed twenty five states and the District of Columbia to sue the USDA, arguing the federal government had a legal obligation to fund the program and should be required to use emergency funds to do it.
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Mei works as a program specialist with the Food and Nutrition Service and also serves as the union president for employees in her division in the Northeast. Like many of her colleagues, she had been furloughed during the shutdown. On Oct. 2, she joined MSNBC’s Chris Jansing to talk about what she and her coworkers were dealing with. Jansing introduced her as someone speaking only for herself and in her capacity as a union leader, not as a representative of the USDA.
The next day, the Post reported, a human resources official informed her she would be fired thirty days after the shutdown ended. The message accused her of discussing the agency “without prior approval” and gave her twenty days to contest her termination. The Post noted that everything she said in the four minute interview “was publicly available through a variety of news articles and guidance from anti hunger advocates, think tanks and organizations.”
The threat to fire her “has sparked concerns and outrage among other USDA workers and members of the Federal Unionists Network, who argue that the move is part of a concerted effort by the Trump administration to chill speech among federal employees.”
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Mei told the Post she had done many media interviews before, including radio and newspaper conversations in Boston, where she lives. She believes the attempt to fire her is retaliation. “As I was and have been speaking in my personal capacity and in my capacity as union representative, I am not required to ask for permission to speak on behalf of me or my co-workers,” she said. “Especially speaking on behalf of my co-workers as the union president, that is a right that I am granted by the Federal Labor Management statute. So I do not need to ask for permission.”
Mei returned to MSNBC for an interview with Ana Cabrera, who introduced her by noting that she said she was “facing retaliation.” Cabrera played a clip from the Oct. 2 appearance, where Mei described the anxiety her colleagues were feeling.
She said they were “anxious because we’re hearing about the risk potentials and office closures that are looming over USDA as this shutdown kind of drags on.” She also told Jansing that SNAP benefits “will be okay for the month of October,” but things could get complicated “if this drags on into November or even past that.”
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Speaking again with Cabrera, Mei said she was sharing her “own personal view” and “not representing the agency, just like I wasn’t on October 2nd.” She added, “I was clearly representing my own views and the views of my chapter members.” She said she was “honestly really confused” by the letter because “The New York Times and NPR had already published everything that I had said about SNAP and WIC,” or it was information already posted on the USDA website.
With the shutdown over, the thirty day clock for her termination has officially begun. Mei said she is working with her union lawyer on next steps but wants to return to her job and stay focused on “reducing hunger” and “increasing food security in a manner that inspires public confidence.”