Protests of federal firings, DOGE to continue in Ogden this weekend
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- Demonstrators participate in the “Save Our Civil Service” Day of Action in Ogden on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
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- Demonstrators participate in the “Save Our Civil Service” Day of Action in Ogden on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
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- Demonstrators participate in the “Save Our Civil Service” Day of Action in Ogden on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
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- Demonstrators participate in the “Save Our Civil Service” Day of Action in Ogden on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
OGDEN — Concerned citizens will coalesce again this weekend for an Ogden-area demonstration in opposition of recent federal layoffs, the Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE — and presidential advisor Elon Musk.
After a few hundred protestors turned out to greet U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, co-chair of the DOGE caucus in the House of Representatives, at Timbermine Steakhouse last weekend, Ogden’s 50501 chapter is organizing a “Tesla Takeover” at Riverdale Tesla on Saturday at noon.
Local activist Kevin Lundell has been pleased by the number of people who have been willing to speak out on behalf of themselves as well as family and friends who have been impacted by the firings.
“I’ve actually been surprised at the amount of engagement, the amount of energy, the amount of people that are coming out and wanting to lift their voice, wanting to be heard,” Lundell told the Standard-Examiner.
Lundell is one of the co-founders of 614 Productions, an Ogden-based group seeking to drive local engagement in the political process and promote true representation in the government.
The group’s members have been present at multiple recent rallies for federal workers, including the “Save Our Civil Service” Day of Action earlier this month.
Lundell said federal workers have been — and continue to be — a large part of the fabric of Ogden, be it via the Internal Revenue Service, Hill Air Force Base and the Department of Defense, or a myriad of other agencies.
“You start asking people, your friends, why they live in Ogden, and many of them can trace their roots right back to federal jobs,” Lundell said. “Like, that’s why their family lives in Ogden.
“As these protests bring these ideas to top of mind, you’ll start seeing everywhere that you have friends and loved ones who earn their living, who support their families through these jobs and just how vital it is and has been all along to our local economy.”
Protests in Ogden have drawn the attention of national pundits and celebrities like Mark Cuban, who asked via Bluesky, “Are there any Dems in Utah who can stand up for the good folks in Ogden? Their town could soon face their own Great Recession.”
The Trump administration has faced legal challenges amid efforts to cut federal spending and reduce the size of government, which resulted in the mass firings. Federal judges have reversed some decisions related to those efforts, in some cases calling for the reinstatement of workers.
In turn, those rulings have been subject to appeal and claims of judicial overreach.
As that push-and-pull continues to play out, Lundell and others like him remain focused on the actual human impact of the DOGE cuts.
“Just imagine the anxiety around that,” he said. “When your livelihood, the way that you feed your family, is on the line. That’s a really stressful place for our community to live in right now, and really unfortunate.”
