Wash staffBy Claire Van Buren
Some federal interns, who said they are experiencing significant anxiety following President Donald Trump’s federal agency layoffs, may consider switching to private-sector jobs. This instability has instilled a feeling of distrust in the government and its ability to protect employees.
Zoe McCasland, a legislative intern for Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said working for Markey is gratifying because of his progressive approach. Still, she often faces emotionally draining circumstances as the first line of defense for local constituents.
“There are people that call every single day,” McCasland said. “They are like, you know, ‘I’m elderly. I live on Social Security. I’m a veteran. I have a trans child. I am trans myself … I’m genuinely scared for my ability to live right now and over the next four years. There are just a couple of calls I’ve had that just take the life out of you … And there’s, like, not really anything I can do.’”
Sarah Hayes, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the government program at Georgetown University, specializes in American politics, race politics and understanding people’s political behaviors and attitudes toward public policies.
Hayes discussed the growing distrust in the government and predicted that it would manifest in American culture in unprecedented ways.
According to a 2024 poll issued by the University of Massachusetts Lowell Center of Public Opinion, 66% of Democrats, 87% of Republicans, and 90% of Independents said they “trust the government to do what is right” only some of the time or none of the time. Only 23% of respondents said they trust the government almost always or most of the time.
“I wouldn’t trust the government anywhere,” Hayes said. “This is kind of what happens when you upend procedural norms … trust will naturally fall by the wayside. Because if you can’t put your trust in what is done on a regular basis, then I don’t know what else you can do.”
However, she encourages undergraduate students to persist in these uncertain times by exploring different career avenues. She recommended nonprofits, think tanks, and state departments in Maryland and Virginia as alternatives for students concerned about federal employment.
“I think that there are a lot of doors closing on a lot of different people, but I think one thing that is going to be important is that, like … you gotta stay ready,” Hayes said.
Some current federal interns also advise younger undergraduates to remain determined to succeed. Jack Bowman, an intern in the office of suburban Philadelphia Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-PA, said excelling in technical skills is crucial to succeeding as a federal intern.
Bowman and McCasland have not directly experienced instability but have witnessed it among their peers.
“I actually have a friend who works at the State Department—or worked, I guess—and she got fired recently,” said Bowman. “… she had to break her lease because she couldn’t afford her rent anymore.”
McCasland said a peer in the Department of Transportation goes to work every day, not knowing if she will still be employed.
McCasland also considered switching to the private sector—something she is personally against—but she constantly fears for the stability of her job and the future of nonprofits. Despite the overwhelming uncertainty, her passion remains in the public sector.
“Nothing’s gonna get done if there aren’t, like, good people who actually care about something exactly, that are fighting for something real and not to line the pockets of oligarchs,” McCasland said. “The world needs passionate people.”
Bowman also plans to remain in the public sector despite the recent tensions. He enjoys knowing that his work directly affects his hometown, particularly in healthcare and education policy.
“The public sector has become more volatile for a lot of people who are studying government and poli-sci and all that stuff,” Bowman said.
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