A social media post from a park ranger who was fired from his dream job at Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeast Iowa has gone viral, as many federal workers in Iowa fear for their jobs.

Firings loom at the FAA, the VA, the SBA, the IRS, the Department of Education, and a range of other agencies.

During a conference call Tuesday with Iowa reporters, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley recalled having been fired several times, decades ago when he worked in the private sector.

“It’s a tragedy for people that are getting laid off,” Grassley says. “So, going out looking for a job after having a job for 10 years is not an easy thing to do.”

Reports say thousands of federal workers were fired across the country in recent days as President Trump and Elon Musk launched what’s being described as a purge of the nation’s bureaucracy. Grassley says it’s all within the president’s authority to make these changes.

“This is an executive branch decision that, who works for the executive branch is determined by the president of the United States,” Grassley says. “The Constitution says all executive power of the federal government shall be vested, and that’s the word that’s used, vested in the office of the presidency.”

Grassley says he feels for those who are losing their jobs, but insists there’s little he can do to intervene.

“Congress can’t do anything except complain about it,” he says, “but I think we have to have sympathy and understanding for people that are laid off.”

Reports quote a White House official saying Tesla CEO and billionaire Musk is categorized as a “special government employee” through his work at the Department of Government Efficiency, though he’s not the DOGE administrator. DOGE was created by President Trump as a way to cut federal spending.