Amna Nawaz:

More than three dozen former federal workers who quit or lost their jobs last year in the wake of cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, are now running for political office. Most, but not all, are Democrats, who say the assault on public service inspired them to seek change by standing for office themselves.

We spoke with three candidates running for Congress in the upcoming midterms.

Bayly Winder (D):

My name is Bayly Winder. I live in Mays Landing, New Jersey. I'm running for Congress in New Jersey's Second Congressional District.

Lauren Reinhold (D):

I'm Lauren Reinhold. I live in Lawrence, Kansas, and I am running to be U.S. representative for the First Congressional District of Kansas.

Eric Chung (D):

My name is Eric Chung. I live in Sterling Heights, and I'm running for Michigan's 10th Congressional District.

Bayly Winder:

I was proud of the work that we did at USAID, and I remember the day when Donald Trump and his administration issued that executive order to basically pause foreign aid.

It was a day one priority for the administration, and it was shocking. It was gutting.

Lauren Reinhold:

When the Trump administration took over the Social Security Administration, I was a headquarters employee. They wanted about 7,000 of us to quit, or they would RIF us, do a reduction in force. We were also aware of DOGE starting to mine data from our agency.

Eric Chung:

I was a career civil servant at the Commerce Department. I worked on implementing the CHIPS and Science ACT. They came in with this approach where they were going to cut first and figure it out later, and then they just made firings across the board.

Bayly Winder:

I have vivid memories of seeing when USAID first got torn down in the news like everyone else. I have recollections of colleagues in tears, of us just being in disbelief and trying to even fathom what was going on.

That moment is seared in my memory, and it's one of the reasons why I'm taking on this fight, because I think, in this moment especially, we need folks from a true public service background, not career politicians.

Lauren Reinhold:

The federal government does so much to protect the American people, and DOGE has done as much as they can to break that, and I want to be part of fixing it.

As I tell people when I'm out in the district, I'm all for government efficiency, but it needs to be done in a way that makes sense.

Eric Chung:

I left a resignation letter. I explained that my oath was always to the Constitution, and when I could no longer do that faithfully in a department where the leadership was not following the law and not following the Constitution, I had to leave and made this run for Congress after that.

Bayly Winder:

The labels that I would apply to myself are public servant and pragmatist, someone who knows how to get things done, someone who understands that we need to build relationships, build coalitions to deliver change in Washington that will actually make life better for folks here in this district.

That change cannot wait any longer. The stakes are too high in this moment, and you can see that.

Lauren Reinhold:

Kansans are very practical-oriented people and conservative. They want government to be slim and efficient, but they also recognize when they're getting the short end of the stick. People are mad. They don't want partisanship. They just want things to get done.

Eric Chung:

This is a moment for outsiders. This is a moment for people who are not always thinking about running for this office and this office.

We're not just looking for career politicians. We're looking for public servants who have experience to meet this moment, and that's what I'm hearing across our community.