Washington (AP) – Hundreds of federal employees joined Wednesday outside the Department of Health and Social Services headquarters, protest against recent fire and their effects on public health and lead a large part of their anger to Elon Musk and his Agency’s efforts To cut expenses.
“We are here today to fight for the future of science, to fight for the future of your family, to give hope for the American people,” said Ian Fucci, researcher to cancer at the National Institutes of Health. “Consider the drugs you are planning for diabetes, heart disease or cancer. These were largely developed due to the researchers funded by NIH and NIH. Destroying years of progress in research really serve the American people? No.”
In the middle of icy temperatures and light snow, participants chanted slogans such as “funding, not freezing” and “getting up, retalling”. They wore panels proclaiming: “Protect civil servants because they protect you!” And “in science we trust.
Many said they were there to combat the work of the Musque Government Department and Confusion labor reductions sowed. A panel modified the acronym of Doge to read “Grift Department”.
“Are we going to close the illegal takeover of Elon Musk of the government?” Yes, you bet we are, “said Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, at the crowd of around 300.” We are going to fight this before the courts. We will fight this at the Congress. And there can be no deal as usual in the congress. And we will fight this in gatherings like this throughout the country. »»
Ellen Bak, a former NIH scientist, said that she was dismissed this weekend and that her research on stem cells and blood cancer had essentially been lost.
“The large amount of money, time and tests and care and effort,” she said. “Was everything?”
Jenna McGrew, an 18-year-old Florida student, said that she was present because her older brother Ethan suffers from a rare autoimmune disease and is in intensive NIH care with a serious bacterial infection. She called the “level of uncertainty” inside the NIH “a risk for her life”.
Speaking of President Donald Trump, McGrew said: “What he does not only affect my family, this affects all the citizens of America and everyone outside America. NIH is one of the best hospitals in the world. And they are looking for everything. And so the reduction in financing for them does not only affect America, but that affects the rest of the world. »»
The rally took place at the sight of the Capitol, and several legislators have undertaken to continue their fight against numerical against Trump policies from inside the congress. Maryland’s Democrat representative Jamie Raskin has concluded an prolonged analogy between medical research for scientists and this moment in American history.
“These are the people who fight the viruses that threaten the American people,” Raskin told the crowd. “But fascism is also a virus.”
“People who are fighting here for subreference temperatures are antibodies. We are antibodies. »»
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Associated Press journalist, Serkan Gurbuz, contributed to this report.