Every Friday night in Washington, something bad happens. Many people who work for the U.S. government get fired from their jobs.
Mary Glantz is one of them. She worked at the U.S. Institute of Peace. One Friday night, she was in a hotel. Her phone started to ring at 9:30 p.m. Her co-workers were sending messages. They were scared. They were losing their jobs.
At 10:09 p.m., Mary got an email. It said she was fired. Most of the 300 workers at her office also lost their jobs that night. Mary was shocked.
These job cuts are part of a plan. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk want to make the government smaller. They say this will save money.
Many workers are scared on Friday nights. They don’t know if they will still have a job.
Since January 20, mass firings happened on 7 out of 10 Fridays. Hundreds of people lost their jobs.
Experts say these firings are not normal. In the past, presidents did not fire many people on Friday nights.
Lawyers say it is hard to get help at night. Courts and offices are closed. This makes it hard for workers to fight back.
The White House says these firings are for “security reasons.” But they do not give more information.
On January 24, many inspectors general (government watchers) were fired. They worked at 17 different government places.
Some people say this is like the “Saturday Night Massacre” in 1973. That was when President Nixon fired people who were investigating him.
Now, every Friday night, workers wait and worry. They don’t know if they will be next.
Source: reuters.com
Vocabulary for the Article
Friday – The day after Thursday.
Example: She goes shopping on Friday.
Night – The time after the sun goes down.
Example: I sleep at night.
Job – Work people do to get money.
Example: He has a good job.
Lose – To no longer have something.
Example: I don’t want to lose my keys.
Fired – Told to stop working at your job.
Example: She was fired last week.
Worker – A person who works.
Example: The worker is tired.
Message – Words sent by phone or internet.
Example: I got a message from my friend.
Phone – A thing we use to call or text.
Example: My phone is in my bag.
Scared – Feeling afraid.
Example: I am scared of dogs.
Email – A message sent on the internet.
Example: I sent an email to my teacher.
Office – A place where people work.
Example: She works in a big office.
Plan – An idea about what to do.
Example: We have a plan for the trip.
President – The leader of a country.
Example: The president is on TV.
Save – To keep or use less of something.
Example: I want to save money.
Court – A place where legal cases are heard.
Example: The court is closed today.
Lawyer – A person who knows the law and helps in court.
Example: The lawyer is helping his client.
Help – To give support or do something for someone.
Example: Can you help me?
Next – Coming after something else.
Example: You are next in line.
Wait – To stay and not go until something happens.
Example: Please wait here.
Reason – Why something happens.
Example: What is the reason for your visit?
