Fired park ranger to be Sen. Tina Smith's guest at President Trump's address
Sen. Tina Smith said an "unjustly fired" northern Minnesota park ranger will be her guest at President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
Kate Severson, a federal park ranger at Voyageurs National Park, was among thousands of federal workers to be fired abruptly last month as billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) drive the Trump Administration's widespread push to dramatically shrink the federal government.
In a statement Monday, Smith said park rangers like Severson keep visitors safe in some of Minnesota's "most wild and extreme areas."
"The story that Kate and Voyageurs National Park represent is one of absolute chaos for Americans since Donald Trump has taken office – he unilaterally appointed Elon Musk to one of the most powerful positions in the government without oversight," Smith stated. "I'm glad she has the opportunity to share her story and I'm grateful to have her by my side at this Address to Congress.'
In an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, Severson said she will appeal her firing.
"The awful thing is our termination letters say it was because of performance [and] not meeting performance needs. This obviously isn't the reason," Severson told the newspaper.
In a statement provided by Smith's office, Severson called the recent firings a "betrayal" of the newest cohort of Park Service employees that weakens America's ability to protect parks.
"I do not for one second believe these cuts were made to save the taxpayers money," Severson stated. "Parks have well-documented benefits to the economy. Instead, these cuts were designed to make government agencies vulnerable, strip away the protections and services in place for the public good, and open the way for those looking to exploit our resources.'
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