At a town hall even tin Fairbanks, Alaska on Monday, February 17, Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska) was confronted by angry voters who have been laid off from federal government jobs as part of the mass layoffs campaign being carried out by the Trump Administration with the help of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
One of them told Begich, “I was fired. Now, I have no choice but to leave that community and probably leave Alaska, and so, I just don’t understand how these budget cuts are helpful to any Alaskans or their communities. And I’m just wondering what you plan to do about this.”
Begich responded that he was “not in a position to approve or deny the cuts” — a statement that drew vehement criticism from journalist Judd Legum on his Popular Information blog as well as in a February 20 thread posted on the Musk-owned X.com (formerly Twitter).
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The GOP congressman’s statement, according to Legum, showed a failure to understand how the federal government works under the U.S. Constitution.
Legum tweeted, “It was a remarkable statement from the freshman Congressman, sworn into office in January. The Constitution vests the ‘power of the purse’ with Congress — not an unelected billionaire appointed to a position in the executive branch…. Begich said he finds out about budget cuts impacting Alaska ‘on Twitter’ and ‘had no idea these things were going on’ in advance. Begich claimed the same situation was true ‘under Biden,’ but did not provide examples. He did not mention that he was not a Congressman during (Joe) Biden’s presidency.”
Legum noted that “another constituent” at the town hall “asked Begich if he would ‘publicly commit to denouncing the cuts’ that impact Alaska and ‘commit to saying this is wrong.'” But Begich refused, telling attendees, “I’m not going to denounce all cuts. We have to cut.”
The journalist points out that online, Begich “has been a huge Musk fanboy, even promoting Musk’s false claim that millions of people over 120 are receiving social security benefits.”
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In his February 20 column for Popular Information, Legum detailed the impact that Trump Administration/DOGE-driven layoffs will have in Alaska.
“The indiscriminate budget cuts could hit Alaska especially hard because the state has a high concentration of federal workers,” Legum explained. “There are about 15,000 federal employees in Alaska, and about 1200 are ‘probationary,’ which generally means they have less than one year of service in their current position. If all probationary employees were fired, it would cost the state about $88 million in lost wages.”
Legum elaborated, “Many federal workers are located in rural areas where there are few opportunities for alternative employment. Alaskans cut from the National Park Service include ‘biologists, field technicians, logistics specialists, a superintendent, an archeologist and a pilot.’ Alaska is home to many Federal Aviation Administration employees, some of whom have lost their jobs. At least 30 Alaskans who work for the U.S. Forest Service, which plays a critical role in preventing wildfires, were also let go.”
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