Markey, Pressley Defend Constituent & Federal Worker Unlawfully Disciplined for Exercising Free Speech

Ellen Mei, a Massachusetts constituent & USDA worker, was disciplined and risks firing by Trump admin after media interview warning of looming hunger crisis

Letter Text (PDF)

Boston (November 14, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) today sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins demanding the reinstatement of their constituent, Ellen Mei-a union leader and career public servant at USDA who has helped to administer food assistance-who faces unlawful retaliation after warning the public of the administration's cuts to SNAP and staff layoffs that would jeopardize access to food for millions. Senator Markey and Representative Pressley joined Ms. Mei at a press conference in solidarity with her and federal workers unlawfully terminated and mistreated by the Trump administration.

Ms. Mei is one of the hundreds of thousands of federal workers impacted by Donald Trump's firing frenzy since he entered office and recently received a Notice of Proposed Removal (NOPR) after participating in a media interview in her personal capacity. The NOPR came during Trump and Republicans' government shutdown, in which they weaponized critical food security programs, refused to fund SNAP, and let families go hungry.

During the MAGA Republican federal government shutdown, press outlets nationwide interviewed impacted constituencies, including federal employees, to inform the American public of their lived experiences under the shutdown. On October 2nd, Ms. Mei exercised her right to free speech to share her experience as a federal worker during a nationally televised interview. The next day, October 3rd, Ms. Mei received a Notice of Proposed Removal (NOPR) that noted the interview as cause for possible removal from her position - a direct violation of her First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

In the letter, the lawmakers write, "Ms. Mei joined the USDA to serve her country and her fellow Americans who rely on the critical services of the Agency you are charged with leading and stewarding. Like every public servant, she took an oath to serve this nation, protect and honor the Constitution, and dedicate her labor in pursuit of the USDA's mission. Ms. Mei remains committed to continuing that mission and our shared constituents would be well served with her in her current position."

"This administration is treating federal workers as expendable, their work as unimportant, and their contracts as null and void. What Trump has done is not only callous, cruel, and anti-worker, it is illegal. This isn't just a threat to federal workers. It is a threat to every member of every union who has fought and bargained for their rights. We won't tolerate this assault on our federal workers. That is why I am a proud supporter of the Protecting America's Workforce Act, which would reverse Trump's disgusting union busting of federal workers. Trump treats working people as political pawns-but a public servant trying to make their mortgage or pay for their kids' medicine is not a game," said Senator Markey at the press conference. "The chance to care for your community through public service is a sacred commitment that workers like Ellen have dedicated their lives to. When they speak out publicly-when they call attention to a president wielding the federal government against the very people these agencies were created to protect-they are fighting for their agencies' missions. Speaking out, standing up, raising the alarm about a rogue administration-these are acts of public service."

"Our federal workers and the essential services they provide communities have been under attack by the Trump Administration long before their record setting, manufactured government shutdown, but the retaliatory firing of Ellen Mei for exercising her protected right to free speech is egregious and dangerous," said Congresswoman Pressley in a statement alongside the letter. "While communities scrambled to mitigate Trump's attempts to deny families their SNAP benefits despite court orders, Trump and the USDA were working around the clock to stifle Ellen's voice and dissuade others from standing up and speaking out. That's why I'm fighting for Ellen and dedicated federal workers like her who took an oath to serve and give back to our communities daily-to literally feed our neighbors. USDA must immediately reinstate her and allow her to get back to the service she has been called to and provided with distinction."

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