In the spring, Edward Brandon Becham was caring for his dying wife. He was also among hundreds of thousands of federal workers weighing whether to abandon public service. Donald Trump had taken office vowing to slash the federal bureaucracy, then <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/24/doge-fast-cuts-federal-workers-programs-elon-musk/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">entrusted the task to billionaire Elon Musk</a> and a newly created cost-cutting team called the Department of Government Efficiency. In a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/08/doge-musk-goals/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">matter of months</a>, Musk and his U.S. DOGE Service wiped out <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/31/federal-workers-doge-buyout-paid/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">hundreds of thousands of jobs</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/17/doge-trump-grants-hhs-nih-backlog/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">billions</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/06/25/trump-budget-law-challenge/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">of dollars</a> in spending and the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/17/trump-fires-federal-workers-performance/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">job security</a> that once distinguished government work.Of America’s 2.4 million federal workers, nearly 4 in 10 registered to vote had, like Becham, cast ballots for Trump, according to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/tablet/2025/03/18/feb-28-march-10-2025-washington-post-ipsos-poll-civilian-federal-workers/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Washington Post-Ipsos poll</a>. But as the days passed, Becham was becoming convinced that the Trump administration’s treatment of government employees — <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/17/trump-fires-federal-workers-performance/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">large-scale firings</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/01/second-elon-musk-doge-federal-workers-email/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">emails</a> he saw as harassing and strict return-to-office mandates — was wrongheaded and cruel. If he was unable to resign, Brandon would be required to report to a federal building in Las Vegas more than 70 miles away. Round-trip, it would cost him three hours a day with his three children, for whom he would soon be the only parent and sole provider.Becham felt as though he was witnessing two painful deaths: his wife’s, of course, but also that of his career. In his darkest moments, Brandon turned to his Bible — and next to it, his leather-bound diary.This story follows Becham and his family for a week as he navigated his feelings about his wife, family, his career and Trump.<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/hannah-natanson/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Hannah Natanson</a> reported and narrated the piece. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/bishop-sand/?utm_source=podcasts&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=post-reports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Bishop Sand</a> composed music and produced audio.Subscribe to The Washington Post <a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?s_l=OFFSITE_PODCAST&p=s_v&s_dt=yearly&utm%5B%E2%80%A6%5De-podcast&utm_medium=acq-nat&utm_campaign=podcast-subs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.

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Deep Reads: His wife was dying, his federal job crumbling. It tested his faith — in God and Trump.

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