Olszewski to Bring Federal Worker Laid Off by DOGE to President’s Joint Address

(Washington, DC) – Congressman Johnny Olszewski announced that Second District constituent Katie Stahl, a recently-terminated federal employee, will be his special guest at President Trump’s joint address to Congress tonight. Stahl, a biologist from Baltimore, was let go without notice from her position in the Annapolis office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the Trump Administration’s mass lay-offs of federal workers on probationary status last month.

Stahl was on probationary status because she recently accepted a promotion, but was first hired with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2019, during President Trump’s first term. She joins other recently-terminated federal workers attending the speech tonight as the guests of Democratic Members of Congress. They highlight the heartbreaking impact of the President’s indiscriminate and cruel policies.

“These arbitrary terminations weaken us as a nation — these are real people with real families to support and real bills to pay,” Congressman Olszewski said. “These are also individuals who provide critical services to all Americans that may soon no longer exist. Katie was literally let go for being good at her job. She received no notice, no severance, not even the documentation she needed to apply for unemployment assistance. This is wrong.”

In her position, Stahl assisted Maryland farmers with conservation efforts. She described it as her “dream job.”

“I’m sad to lose my job and leave behind the farmers, coworkers, and projects I was working on,” Stahl said. "I’m now facing the reality of unemployment and a tough job market, especially in the conservation field. I think it’s important for Americans to know that there will be unintended consequences of these blanket layoffs, not only for employees but also folk like farmers. There will also be harmful impacts to the Chesapeake Bay and wildlife.”

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