Russia, China looking to hire frustrated US federal workers targeted by Trump, DOGE: Report

Nations like China and Russia have ramped up efforts to hire American federal employees, targeting those who have been recently fired or those who feel they could be next, CNN reported, citing intelligence sources.

The report signalled that American adversaries are eager to exploit mass layoffs undertaken by the administration of President Donald Trump and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The report said especially those employees “who may have valuable information about US critical infrastructure and vital government bureaucracy” are being targeted by foreign countries. To carry out such recruitments, these nations have already set up websites and begun reaching out through social media platforms such as LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit and RedNote.

According to the intelligence sources, these nations want to exploit people who “are at their most vulnerable right now”.

“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see that these cast aside federal workers with a wealth of institutional knowledge represent staggeringly attractive targets to the intelligence services of our competitors and adversaries,” a source was quoted as saying by CNN.

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Such targeting of disgruntled employees across nations is not a new trend. However, in the US, the situation has worsened since Trump went on a firing spree to downsize the federal government and slash spending.

Earlier this week, the Office of Personnel Management further confirmed Trump’s plans to carry out mass firings of the federal workforce.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard earlier this week condemned reports stating prospects of disgruntled employees joining hands with adversaries, calling them “disloyal”.

These disgruntled employees are “exactly the kinds of people we need to root out, get rid of, so that the patriots who do work in this area, who are committed to our core mission, can actually focus on that,” she stated in an interview.

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She also blasted CNN for reporting these discussions, labelling the broadcaster as their “propaganda arm”.

“They are exposing themselves, essentially, by making this indirect threat – using their propaganda arm, CNN, that they’ve used over and over again – to reveal their hand,” she added.

But a source quoted by CNN warned it wasn’t a “reality TV” and that dismissing genuine concerns raised by staffers would have “consequences” for American security.

(With inputs from agencies)