Hi, y’all. Welcome back to The Opposition. ICYMI: The Bulwark is coming to Nashville for a live event on May 29 🤠 (the crew will also be in Chicago on May 28, but you know by now where my allegiances lie). Last night, I chatted with my pal Andrew Egger about the Democrats trying to get their footing in the last few weeks—and looking for leadership. Check it out here. And in today’s newsletter, I get into one potential new source of energy for the party. Thanks for reading, and if you’d like to participate in the comments below, consider signing up for a 30-day free trial of Bulwark+. –Lauren Fired Govt Workers Are Pissed Off and Running for OfficeCould an army of dismissed feds deliver wins for Democrats up and down the ballot?
“I’m angry and I’m motivated.”If the 2018 midterm elections were defined by a wave of women running for office, Democratic officials and strategists believe that the 2026 cycle could be remembered as the year that fired federal government employees got their revenge. Although it’s early in the process and most candidates won’t file until next year, Democratic groups that help train first-time candidates say they are hearing expressions of interest in running for office from a notable number of former federal government workers—most of whom lost their jobs due to DOGE cuts or resigned from their positions out of frustration and exhaustion. In fact, there’s been so much interest from former federal employees that groups like Run for Something and Emerge, which help recruit and train new candidates, have hosted information sessions on Zoom specifically to help former federal employees navigate being first-time candidates. And while most will run for local offices, Democratic strategists see this moment as ripe for recruiting a new bench of candidates up and down the ticket who are uniquely positioned to personalize the case against Trump and the Republican party. Fired federal employees and the Democratic party could be a perfect match of supply and demand: Thousands of laid-off government experts and public servants are eager to undo the damage the Trump administration and DOGE have done to their departments and impose some accountability for the lawless gutting of the government. For their part, Democrats are hungry for a new generation of talent that can respond to the current moment and help the party move beyond the catastrophe of last year. “You’re going to see people who have personal ties to the federal government, to the stuff that DOGE has done, who are going to step up to run,” said Amanda Litman, cofounder of Run for Something, which recruits and trains first-time Democratic candidates. “I think it really hammers home for people how deep the federal government’s roots are. It’s not just in Washington. . . . The federal government is the people who are researching cures for cancer, or making sure that your Social Security benefits have processed and that you got your check.” Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, who is one of the party’s recruitment chairs for the 2026 midterms, told The Bulwark that Trump’s “unpopular policies are only helping our efforts to recruit Democratic candidates as we work to take back the House and hold President Trump and Elon Musk accountable.” Since Trump returned to the White House, there’s been a wave of interest in running for office on the left. Litman said that of the more than 200,000 people Run for Something had signed up to become potential candidates since the group launched eight years ago, some 80,000 have joined in the past five months. While the Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from running in partisan elections, the DOGE firings have created a large, energized new pool of candidates for Democrats to recruit from. Subreddit communities of federal workers have popped off since Trump’s return, with people trading stories about the chaos in their departments and encouraging those who have been fired to run for office. Last month, more than 1,800 people signed up for a training Run for Something billed as “From Public Service to Public Office: A Call for Former Federal Workers.” Democratic strategists see a lot of potential in running fired employees in the midterms—particularly if Elon Musk, who heads the DOGE operation, continues to be a drag on the Republicans. “The most important thing above everything else is having a story to tell about who you are and why you’re running,” said Pat Dennis, president of the Democratic-led opposition research group American Bridge 21st Century. “A lot of these fired employees have an incredibly important story to tell—especially folks who have worked in the areas where they are running and where those programs had really important local impacts. And they have a built-in way to say, ‘Hey, I’ve served this community for a long time.’” Mike Croley, who was working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a presidential management fellow when Trump axed the decades-old program in February, told The Bulwark he never considered himself very political, but he felt “radicalized” as he watched his colleagues lose their jobs and important government work come to a halt. (Croley’s fellowship was set to end this summer, but he resigned in April out of frustration.) He attended a Run for Something training last month before deciding to launch a longshot race against Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.). “I feel like as federal employees, we were under attack. And for me to be attacked by my own president and the unelected richest fucking man in the world telling me that this career that I’ve spent 45 years manifesting is no longer? I just couldn’t stand by and watch that happen,” said Croley. “I’m angry and I’m motivated.” Still, some Democratic strategists stressed that the party needs to be careful in its messaging and should advise prospective candidates on how to speak about their federal service in a way that doesn’t backfire. “Defending big institutions or defending the status quo is not a winning message. But when you talk about the specific services that various offices provide for the American people, that’s significantly more popular,” said Caitlin Legacki, a Democratic consultant. That message was driven home in a Zoom training this week hosted by Emerge, which recruits and trains women to run for office. During the session for former federal workers interested in running for office, staffers encouraged potential candidates to fine-tune their stories about why they are running. “It’s not that you’re running because you’re saying, ‘I want to create more big government.’ No. It’s that you want the right people in government to do constituent service work,” said Virginia State Sen. Danica Roem in remarks at the start of the training session, which The Bulwark was allowed to listen in on. “That’s where you come in as candidates, as candidates who have experience in the federal workforce. You know what constituent services is, because you do it every day,” Roem added. “The federal government’s loss can be our gains.” 🫏 Donkey Business:— Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador on Wednesday in an effort to secure the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration admits was wrongly sent to a prison in El Salvador. Although the Supreme Court has told the Trump administration to facilitate his return, the president has refused. Democrats were initially a bit uncertain about how to talk about Abrego Garcia given the party’s skittishness on immigration. Although Van Hollen’s trip is a clear indicator that the party feels more comfortable drawing a contrast with Trump on the issue, it comes as Abrego Garcia has been stranded in El Salvador for over a month. More Democratic lawmakers could soon make the trip, too. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker is planning a trip, and Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost and California Rep. Robert Garcia are also trying to get Republicans to sign off on an official congressional trip, which would allow them to do a “welfare check” on Abrego Garcia. Van Hollen, who was not on an official trip, said the El Salvadoran government denied his request to visit Abrego Garcia in the maximum-security prison where he is being held. — David Hogg, the survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting who was recently elected as one of the four vice chairs of the Democratic National Committee, is creating quite the headache for his party. In an interview with the New York Times, Hogg said he would spend $20 million in the 2026 midterm primaries through the group Leaders We Deserve, where he serves as president, to try to oust incumbent Democrats in safe blue districts. Hogg, who turned 25 last week, said the party continued to suffer from a “culture of seniority politics” and needs to bring in a younger generation of leaders who are eager to take a more aggressive posture toward the Trump administration. In the interview, Hogg said he was prepared for the blowback from the party (the DNC typically does not engage in blue-on-blue violence, instead only targeting Republicans) and predicted a “smear campaign” against him. Let’s just say, his social-media mentions today aren’t pretty. My open tabs:— This is a fun read from Kyle Tharp about what happened to the @KamalaHQ account. — Oh, look! Another Stephen A. Smith piece! (This one is actually good though.) — A really alarming look at what it’s like to still be employed by the federal government. You’re a free subscriber to The Bulwark—the largest pro-democracy news and analysis bundle on Substack. For unfettered access to all our newsletters and to access ad-free and member-only shows, become a paying subscriber. We’re going to send you a lot of content—newsletters and alerts for shows so you can read and watch on your schedule. Don’t care for so much email? You can update your personal email preferences as often as you like. 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