NPS employee moves on after promotion, and DOGE firing

When Sam Peterson got the call, it was already too late.

The National Park Service was offering to give him his job back, but he'd taken a job in Oregon and three days earlier signed a lease on an apartment.

He needed to follow through on the commitment.

"We have bills," Peterson said, "and a dog."

Peterson, 26, had just started as a federal employee in June 2024 and was still in probationary stat...