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Haunted by my conversation with a Federal Transit Administration staffer today [1]

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Date: 2025-01-28

I work in municipal transportation and run my small city’s public transit system. I spoke with my FTA contact today about whether we should go ahead and apply for reimbursement on expenses. It was a lighthearted conversation and I joked that I wasn’t too worried about our federal funding, as we operate public transit and weren’t in the business of advancing “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering.” They suggested I could go ahead, but no guarantees on how quickly we could get reimbursed on the funds, though they are already obligated to us by the federal government.

A short while later they called me back with a complete change in tone, saying they were concerned I had recorded the call and to stress that they hadn’t consented to such recording. They went on to say they had spoken to their supervisor, who urged them to call me back and tell me they should not have spoken so casually about the situation. I assured them I had most definitely not recorded the call and they had absolutely nothing to fear from me. I said this several times and we hung up. I realized minutes later they must have heard me on my loud clackety keyboard (I’m always multitasking) during the first call. I called back and when they answered the phone it was clear they were crying. CRYING. I explained that the clicking they had heard was my keyboard, not a recording device, and they thanked me over and over, clearly relieved at the explanation.

This person is a low level bureaucrat whose job it is to track grants and payments for transit agencies. AND THEY WERE AFRAID. Not just for their job, but for their personal safety. I can’t get over it. They don’t make jobs more innocuous in the federal government, yet my contact is afraid of what would happen if … what? Will they continue to wonder if I will rat them out for being insufficiently loyal? Will they always be looking over their shoulder now?

I am at a loss to describe my rage and despair. And for what? To balm the evil soul of one sad insecure little man-child. I will struggle to sleep tonight.

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