Veterans, union representatives and elected officials rallied outside Cincinnati's VA Hospital Friday to protest Trump administration cuts to the federal workforce.
Those cuts, undertaken by Trump advisor Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, have meant the firing of roughly 2,400 VA employees, as well as thousands of others across a number of federal agencies.
Some of those employees have been Cincinnati-based, including at the EPA, the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, and other local federal offices.
Micah Niemeier-Walsh works for NIOSH researching firefighter safety and is also a representative for Cincinnati's chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees.
"We cannot do our jobs if we have no employees," Neimeier-Walsh said. "We can't communicate our research — we can't publish — if we have no funding."
Art Walker is a veteran and retired electrician who came out to the rally. He said he couldn't imagine going elsewhere for medical care.
"I've been going here for the last 15 years, and I haven't had one moment of indecision about whether I'd come back again," he said. "This government, which has no idea what it's doing, is really affecting the lives of everyday people who are just trying to make it."
Trump and Musk say the reductions in the federal workforce are necessary to curb government spending and increase efficiency. Critics, however, say the firings have been random and have cut workers doing critical jobs.
Attendees at the Cincinnati rally said they were worried it would affect the quality of service at agencies like the Veterans Administration.
Jeanine Broderick, a recently retired nurse who worked at the Cincinnati VA Hospital, voiced that concern at the protest.
"When I was here three years ago, we didn't have enough help," she said. "So we sure can't do without now."
A number of local elected officials, including Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, also spoke at the event.
"When you look at the people here, you don't see billionaires," Pureval said. "You see Cincinnati residents, the beauty of our community coming together... these federal workers are not faceless bureaucrats. They're our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, the coach of our childrens' football teams and t-ball teams. They're our community members."
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