Sen. Van Hollen warns Howard County delegation of federal staff dismissals, court fights and budget threats

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen told the Howard County delegation on Feb. 12 that litigation and court orders are the first line of defense against what he described as unlawful federal actions affecting federal employees and appropriated funds.

Van Hollen said the practices he described have led to more than 60 legal cases and multiple temporary restraining orders. “The courts have been very active, and we've been working with those lawyers,” he said, adding that judges in multiple districts — including in Maryland — have issued orders that limit the administration's ability to withhold appropriated funds.

The Maryland Democrat said two categories of actions are central: freezes on already-appropriated domestic funds and dismissals of federal employees, particularly so-called probationary employees. “When the president by executive order put a freeze on effectively domestic funds that had already been appropriated…that's a violation of what we call the Impoundment Control Act,” he said, adding that Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse.

On federal employees, Van Hollen said many newly hired or newly promoted employees placed on probationary status have received termination notices that he and others regard as pretexts for removal. He said the Office of Special Counsel — created after Watergate — and the Merit Systems Protection Board are handling cases on behalf of affected workers and that rulings expected within days could provide relief to a broader class of employees.

“We are fighting this in the courts, we're fighting this in the Congress, and we're fighting this in communities across the country,” Van Hollen said. He credited unions and advocacy groups, including AFGE and Democracy Forward, for filing lawsuits and helping affected workers gain standing.

Delegation members asked about state-level relief for laid-off federal employees and contractors and about protections for unemployment insurance and for preventing foreclosures and utility shutoffs. Van Hollen stressed that pursuing unemployment insurance does not, in his view, forfeit federal employees' rights to seek reinstatement if they were wrongfully dismissed. He also encouraged local resource pages and county-led hiring portals to help place affected workers in county public health and related positions.

Van Hollen also flagged two major federal budget risks: the reconciliation process and an expiring appropriations authority. He said the House Republican budget resolution passed a framework that he described as favoring large tax cuts for the wealthy paid for by cuts to programs such as Medicaid and SNAP, and warned the reconciliation path would allow major policy changes on a simple majority vote. He noted that current continuing resolutions expire March 14, and that Congress is operating under temporary funding since last October.

He also raised cybersecurity and data-protection concerns tied to proposals to apply large-scale artificial-intelligence tools to federal benefits systems, saying judges had issued temporary restraining orders limiting access to some federal data and that criminal penalties exist for unlawful access.

Why it matters: Howard County has a substantial number of federal employees and contractors who Van Hollen said may be affected by federal personnel changes and by any reductions in federal spending. Local officials asked about unemployment insurance, eviction protections and county-level absorption of some displaced workers; Van Hollen said his office and partner organizations are coordinating legal and outreach responses.

The senator encouraged continued public mobilization against budget moves that would cut federal programs or redirect funds and encouraged county lawmakers to coordinate with his office on letters of support for state-level measures affecting unemployment insurance and other protections.

Van Hollen closed by inviting questions and promising further follow-up from his staff on unemployment, legal resources and data-protection questions.