She Has Stage Four Breast Cancer. Her Husband Works as a Federal Worker. Can She Endure This Political Era?

In early May 2025, Michaela felt a sharp pain radiate from her hip while she bent over to tend to her garden. She collapsed and was unable to rise.

Her spouse called an ambulance and she spent the night in a hospital, where, at 57, doctors discovered she had a tumor on her spine. The diagnosis was metastatic breast cancer.

"I had no warning that that was going to happen, and I was heartbroken. At first, I didn’t clearly understand that it was part of my breast cancer that had metastasized to my spine, which I learned is common for it to go," she explained.

"Should I pass away early, I could not imagine leaving [my husband] here. We have little family. We don’t have any children."

Following the victory in the 2024 presidential election, Michaela’s husband prepared to be forced back into the office at the DOT in Washington DC. He had been teleworking since the beginning of the global pandemic, from their home outside Baltimore.

On Trump’s first day in office on 20 January, he issued requiring all federal agencies end all remote work arrangements. The office of personnel management directed agencies to implement the policy despite collective bargaining contracts.

"My spouse is a long-time employee with the administration, and he is highly skilled in his field. He’s been doing this for 20 years more now, so it is draining for him. We’re in our 50s. He was leaving the house at 5 a.m. in the morning and getting home at seven at night," she stated. Her real name is withheld as her husband still works at the Department of Transportation and is concerned about reprisal.

During the summer, she underwent an operation, a laminectomy. A few weeks after that, she had targeted radiation therapy, and is now taking an cancer treatment called Kisqali and hormone therapy.

She had early-stage breast cancer in 2014, but was able to treat it, as it was caught early, with a surgical procedure, radiation, chemotherapy and tamoxifen. With consistent monitoring, she stayed on top of it, prior to her latest diagnosis of advanced metastatic breast cancer.

Surviving Job Cuts and Reorganization

Throughout this year, her spouse survived reductions in force at the Department of Transportation. By May, nearly 2,800 employees had departed the department, due to those reductions as well as retirements and people quitting.

Per a memo on its plan for reductions in force and reorganization, the agency estimated that by the end of next year, its staffing levels would be reduced by approximately 20 percent from levels at the start of the year.

This would correlate to over ten thousand reduced staff at the department. Federal employee cuts have exceeded goals, with hundreds of thousands of workers exiting the government and only a fraction of replacements.

"We were concerned about RIFs. It is clear based on the way this administration functions, that this remains a constant threat because policies disregard the law," she elaborated.

She noted that specialized positions at the agency are difficult to find and private firms often want to pay lower salaries.

Facing a Government Shutdown

While the DOT was losing staff, on October 1st a shutdown of the federal government began, lasting for over a month, the longest in American history.

The couple marked their 18th wedding anniversary in early November, while the shutdown continued, but remained home because they couldn’t afford to go out to eat due to her husband not being paid for several weeks.

She is relieved the federal closure ended as she was worried about medical bills, but laments the increases in healthcare premiums she and her husband have experienced, as well as for those who rely on healthcare through the ACA exchanges.

"I felt desperate. I felt impoverished. I was astonished, scared, and I observed my husband and there were a few times where he was sitting at his desk and he gazed out the window. He was getting depressed," she said.

Feeling Targeted

"We’re just one drop in a ocean of countless people who strive diligently to get where they are, who attempt to do the correct thing, and the people who are making all the decisions are just ransacking and managing the government and viewing federal workers like they are enemies, that they are not citizens, and that they deserve targeting. And I take personal offense to that," she expressed.

A Looming Threat

She is now worried is another possible looming federal closure on 30 January 2026, with the bulk of government funding set to expire again absent a long-term deal.

"The continuing resolution is up for renewal again at the end of January and I fear this is going to happen all over again. We’ve been through several shutdowns. This by far was the worst," she said. "I am already fighting a life-threatening illness, and I don’t know where it’s going to take me. I may survive for a couple more years. I could be here for 10 years."