Decisions in Washington D.C. always make their way to every corner of the country, including South Dakota.
With the Trump Administration making unprecedented personnel decisions with federal jobs, those layoffs are already being felt at home.
Rapid City Republican Sen. Helene Duhamel identifies herself as a traditional Republican and has a history as a strong fiscal conservative in the legislature. She said she can’t help but wonder about the impacts of mass layoffs of federal employees to her home state.
“I don’t have concrete knowledge, but I’m certainly concerned what’s happening at the federal will filter down and impact our state in all areas," Duhamel said. "In particular what crossed my mind – I wonder what impact this will have on the civilian workforce at Ellsworth Air Force Base.”
For Duhamel, cuts need to be strategic first and foremost.
“We’ve talked about our workforce shortage," Duhamel said. "We’re a small state, low taxes, low services. The impact of the federal government on a state like that could be huge.”
A 2023 report from the State Department of Labor said there are about 11,500 federal employees in South Dakota. It’s unclear how many are being affected. But some have already been cut.
Three of these newly laid-off federal employees sat down with SDPB News to share their experience.
Jason Gifford was a loan assistant for rural development, part of the USDA.
Jared Baron was a student trainee natural resource specialist, which is part of the USDA.
Darwin Hertzel was an archeologist for the Natural Resource Conservation Service, which is part of the Department of Agriculture.
All three have been fired as part of the mass layoffs coming from the Trump Administration. They say the moves have turned their lives upside down.
“If you’re talking about brain drain, the agencies that we work with are the ones that keep a lot of people with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in South Dakota,” Hertzel said.
“At least for myself I have the family and the bills to pay," Gifford follows. "The mortgage isn’t cheap. I’m looking at a new position that’s lower paying, it really isn’t my area of expertise, but its money. Also, just looking into some typical side gigs people do. I’m probably going to do some DoorDash after I get out of here.”
Each of three was early in their tenure with the federal government. Baron was a student employee, the other two, probationary employees.
“These changes being put in have no input from supervisors of personnel directly,” Hertzel said.
“My supervisor had no clue," Gifford said. "He was just as shocked as I was and he wrote me a letter on the spot saying, ‘this was not based on your performance, this was based on mass layoffs.’”
However, Hertzel and Gifford say they’re concerned the circumstance of these layoffs could have serious implications for the rest of their careers.
“It’s a black mark," Gifford said. "It’s a black mark on our record that’s basically a lie.”
“And until that would be rolled back, if we were to apply for federal service again you have to specify whether or not you’ve been terminated in the past, and on paper we all have been," Hertzel said.
Neither Hertzel or Gifford received a performance review during their tenures with the federal government, and both say they remain on good terms with now-former colleagues and supervisors.
Each said they were passionate about their career paths, and that it feels like the rug has been pulled from under them. For Baron, it gets hard to mask his frustration as he now tries considering his future in South Dakota.
“You know, I really enjoyed helping landowners," Baron said. "I enjoyed seeing the state in a broader scope. I was hoping to be here longer, but it was – I don’t know. I’m under the assumption I won’t have a job.”
And there’s concern about the broader picture. Hertzel said he’s troubled by what the layoffs mean beyond his situation.
“That’s the part I really love – addressing resource concerns and helping out producers maintain their land, make sure there’s no invasive species either flora or fauna, preserving the number of cattle head they have on," Hertzel said. "Before I came on and my colleague came on there was two archeologists for the state. In 2024 there were over 1,200 projects submitted for cultural resources review. Between two archeologists, 600 projects in a year? It’s not realistic.”
And with each position lost, they see more consequences.
“My position being cancelled is going to cause more delays, because full staffing – they don’t full staffing at NRCS in some areas,” Baron said.
“It’s the same story, I think everyone here filled an empty slot. There were no slots created for us,” Gifford said.
“Nobody is going to get their projects done in that area," Hertzel concludes. "It’s not going to happen, and I don’t mean to say that as anything aggressive, but it’s not going to happen.”
As a result of these real-world implications, the three have a message for South Dakota.
“Reach out to your representatives," Hertzel said. "We’ve done that, they heard us, but it’s going to take much more than a few voices. If you’re a producer listening to this, get in touch because you’re going to be directly affected by this. If you’re a mother or a father and you’re worried about rising food prices or food supply in general, if you’re a college graduate wanting to get a job in the federal government, you will be affected by this.”
Alongside these mass layoffs has come a federal employee hiring freeze that will remain in place until at least April.