She's Battling Stage Four Cancer. Her Husband Is a Government Employee. Will She Endure the Trump Administration?

In early May 2025, a woman experienced a sudden, stabbing ache radiate from her hip while she bent over to water some plants. Then she fell over and couldn’t get back up.

Her husband summoned emergency services and she was admitted in a hospital, where, in her late fifties, doctors discovered she had a mass on her spine. The diagnosis was metastatic breast cancer.

"I had no warning this would occur, and I was devastated. At first, I didn’t clearly understand that it was a recurrence of my breast cancer that had metastasized to my spine, which I learned is common for it to go," she explained.

"If I were to die prematurely, I could not imagine leaving [my husband] here. We have any family. We are without children of our own."

Following the victory in the 2024 election, her spouse prepared to be forced to return to in-person work at the DOT in Washington DC. He had worked remotely since the onset of the global pandemic, from their home outside Baltimore.

On Trump’s first day in office on 20 January, he issued requiring all federal agencies end all remote work arrangements. Federal personnel officials directed agencies to implement the policy despite existing union agreements.

"My spouse is a long-time employee with the administration, and he’s an expert in his field. He’s been doing this for 20 years more now, so it’s exhausting for him. We’re in our 50s. He departed the house at 5 a.m. in the morning and returning at 7 p.m. at night," she stated. Her real name is withheld as her husband still works at the agency and fears retaliation.

In July, she underwent an operation, a laminectomy. A few weeks after that, she had targeted radiation therapy, and is now taking an cancer treatment called Kisqali alongside hormone therapy.

She was previously diagnosed with stage one breast cancer in 2014, but successfully treated it, as it was caught early, with a partial lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal medication. Through regular checkups, she managed her health, before her recent diagnosis of advanced metastatic breast cancer.

Navigating Reductions in Force and Reorganization

Over the past year, her spouse survived reductions in force at the DOT. By spring, nearly 2,800 employees had left the agency, due to the cuts as well as employees retiring and people quitting.

Per a memo on its plan for staff reductions and reorganization, the agency estimated that by the end of next year, its workforce would be reduced by approximately 20 percent from earlier levels.

This translates to over ten thousand reduced staff at the department. Government workforce reductions have surpassed targets, with hundreds of thousands of workers leaving the government and a small number of replacements.

"We were concerned about layoffs. It is clear based on the way this administration functions, that this is always on the table because policies disregard established rules," Michaela explained.

She added that jobs for specializations at the agency are hard to come by and private firms often want to pay reduced wages.

Enduring a Federal Closure

While the DOT was losing staff, on 1 October a shutdown of the federal government began, continuing for 43 days, the most protracted in US history.

Michaela and her husband celebrated their 18th anniversary in early November, while the shutdown continued, but stayed at home because they couldn’t afford to dine out due to her husband going without a paycheck for several weeks.

She is thankful the government shutdown ended as she was anxious over healthcare costs, but laments the increases in insurance premiums she and her husband have experienced, as well as for those who rely on healthcare through the ACA exchanges.

"I felt hopeless. I felt destitute. I felt flabbergasted, frightened, and I observed my husband and there were a few times where he was sitting at his desk and he gazed out the window. He was becoming despondent," she recounted.

A Personal Offense

"We are merely one example in a bucket of countless people who strive diligently to achieve their positions, who attempt to do the correct thing, and those who are making all the decisions are seemingly dismantling and managing the government and viewing federal workers like adversaries, that they are lesser citizens, and that they deserve targeting. I find this personally offensive to that," she said.

Future Uncertainty

She is now worried is another possible looming government shutdown in late January, with the vast majority of government funding set to expire again without a permanent agreement.

"The continuing resolution is up for renewal again at the end of January and I am thinking this will repeat all over again. We have endured several shutdowns. This was decidedly the worst," she said. "I’m already battling a serious disease, and I am uncertain what the future holds. I could be here for another year or two. I might live for 10 years."