U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Oregon Democrats, said this week they are demanding President Trump answer questions about his administration’s deep job cuts at the Bonneville Power Administration and “how those reckless and financially ludicrous decisions add up to undermine the dependability of the electric grid for Oregon and the entire Pacific Northwest.”
“The imminent departure of nearly 20% of BPA’s workforce — including linemen, engineers, and power dispatchers — poses a direct and immediate threat to the reliability of the electrical grid that serves millions of American families and businesses in the Pacific Northwest,” Wyden and Merkley wrote in their letter to Trump. “We do not believe there is an energy emergency, but your actions certainly appear to be creating one through these cuts that actively jeopardize the stability of our energy infrastructure, right now.”
The Oregon senators’ letters noted how BPA plays a critical role in the Pacific Northwest’s power grid, distributing hydropower from 31 federal dams through more than 75 percent of the region’s transmission infrastructure.
“Your administration’s directives to simultaneously buy out workers and freeze hiring has resulted in the resignation of approximately 200 employees, the rescinding of 90 new job offers, and the looming layoff of up to 400 probationary employees,” they wrote. “The weight of this destabilization will bear down on the entire region, most heavily in rural areas that rely on public utilities purchasing BPA power.
Wyden and Merkley wrote how employees are already warning these actions will make it nearly impossible to strengthen and expand the grid as needed, forcing BPA into “damage control” mode, struggling just to “keep the lights on.”
“These cuts are not only reckless but also financially ludicrous,” Wyden and Merkley wrote. “BPA is an entirely self-funded agency that does not rely on taxpayer dollars, meaning these workforce reductions do absolutely nothing to reduce the federal deficit. If the administration’s goal is truly to ensure reliable, secure, and affordable energy, then why are you actively dismantling the most effective and self-sustaining power system in the country?
The senators pressed the administration to answer by Feb. 28 its justification for these cuts; how it will address the operational and safety risks posed by the loss of experienced linemen, engineers, and dispatchers; how it intends to prevent grid failures caused by understaffing; how its actions align with its stated priority of strengthening U.S. energy infrastructure; what it will do to reduce the risks from these job cuts, especially on rural communities and public utilities; if it will lift the hiring freeze on key BPA positions; and what role the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) played in these job cuts and what qualifications DOGE leadership has in managing complex energy infrastructure.
The entire letter is here. https://www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2025_bpa_cuts_letter.pdf
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee, held a virtual press conference with federal workers in Washington state who were recently laid off through no fault of their own and with zero justification, “as part of Trump and Musk’s unprecedented assault on the federal workforce.”
The speakers underscored how the mass firings Trump and Musk have ordered over the last few days will severely jeopardize essential services that families in Washington state rely on—and leave us all worse off.
Murray was joined for the press call by Gregg Bafundo, Former Lead Wilderness Ranger at the U.S. Forest Service’s Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and a former U.S. Marine who lives in Okanogan County; Raphael Garcia, a veteran and former Management Analyst for the US. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who has served as the only management analyst for the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Disability Rating Activity Site at the Seattle Regional Office for the past 7.5 months; and Liz Krumpp, former Washington Constituent Account Executive at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), who retired from BPA in 2023 and resides in Olympia. Both Gregg and Raphael were let go last week as part of the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers.
“Right now, President Trump, and his co-President Elon Musk are breaking American government. They are firing workers left and right—with no plan, no strategy, and no concern for who gets hurt,” said Murray.“We know Trump’s firing spree isn’t about merit because they are targeting new employees, people who have been recognized for outstanding performance, and people who were recently promoted—who are now getting fired from their newly earned jobs. Trump and Musk are, by design, pushing out, some of our best performers—and fresh blood in the federal workforce. We know Trump’s mass firings aren’t about saving money. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fire hundreds of workers at the Bonneville Power Administration. After all, these positions are funded by ratepayers—by all of us in the Northwest—not from federal funding. And these are people who literally help keep the lights on. But no matter—they’re being fired on a whim because two billionaires don’t have a clue about what they do, and don’t care to learn.”
“I swore an oath to serve our country—first in the U.S. Army and then at the VA—only to be abruptly terminated by the very institution that promised to care for those who have served,” said Raphael Garcia of Seattle, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the VA last week. “My termination isn’t just a personal tragedy; it’s a stark reminder that our federal government is dismantling essential support systems for Veterans and vulnerable communities. When cost-cutting means sacrificing dedicated, disabled service members and committed federal employees, it isn’t about efficiency—it’s about eroding the trust and dignity that our nation owes to those who answer the call to serve.”
“For 18 years I have faithfully served the American People—eight as a US Marine and ten as a Wilderness Ranger. I have always put myself between the danger and my fellow citizens and now I have been cast aside as the parasite class or some kind of fraud. These heartless and gutless firings will lead to loss of lives and property,” said Gregg Bafundo of Okanogan County, who was laid off through no fault of his own and with zero justification from the Forest Service last week.
“Bonneville is the source of nearly 50 percent of the electrical power that is consumed in the State of Washington and owns, operates, and maintains over 15,000 circuit miles of high voltage transmission from Montana, across Idaho, Oregon and Washington, extending into Wyoming, Nevada and California. Critically, Bonneville has over a dozen new transmission projects in the planning stages—which its customers are asking for—to serve the increasing demand for electricity and to interconnect new power generators being built. Bonneville is self-funded by selling transmission service or selling electrical power. That’s it. No federal tax revenues fund its work or its employees. Cutting its employees does not save the federal tax payer a dime,” said Liz Krumpp, who worked at BPA for 15 years before retiring in 2023 and resides in Olympia. “These arbitrary lay-offs and hiring freezes will make it increasingly harder for the remaining employees to do their jobs and do them safely. Currently, its customers are asking Bonneville to expand its transmission system, not shrink it. Bonneville helps keep the lights on in the Northwest. Its work costs taxpayers nothing.”