Office of personnel management workers say anxiety is palpable amid intimidation and threat of dismissal

US government workers are describing an atmosphere of “fear” and “madness” as they grapple with a barrage of executive orders issued by Donald Trump and threats to their jobs from the office of personnel management, the agency tasked with managing the federal civil service, which has been taken over by the billionaire Elon Musk.

Weeks before the administration transition, federal worker unions reported low morale among workers in anticipation of pushes for intimidation, mass firings and harassment.