CBS’s 60 Minutes attempted to pull on viewers’ heartstrings Sunday night, showcasing two individuals who supposedly lost their jobs due to President Donald Trump’s government cuts. The problem? Neither of them actually worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), despite the show’s framing. Instead, they were outside consultants employed by a private firm, XLA, which had a contract with USAID.
The segment featured Kristina Drye and Adam Dubard, painting them as victims of the “chaotic shutdown” of USAID’s foreign aid distribution program. CBS even claimed that “more than 8,000 USAID employees were sent home by the administration.” But Drye and Dubard were never USAID employees to begin with.
According to their own LinkedIn profiles, both worked for XLA, providing consulting services to the agency—Drye as a speechwriter and communications analyst, Dubard as a communications analyst for USAID’s Bureau of Legislative and Public Affairs.
While CBS positioned them as career government employees suddenly thrown into uncertainty, the reality was quite different. Dubard had only been in his role for just under a year. Drye, for about two and a half years. Neither fit the profile of lifelong public servants with “decades and decades” of experience, as the segment implied.
The Erickson Rule of Media Coverage: When Dems are in charge, the press highlights beneficiaries of policies. When Republicans are in charge, the press highlights victims of policies. You never heard from the people who lost their jobs when Biden killed the Keystone XL, etc. https://t.co/pcxiE78S46
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 17, 2025
To her credit, Drye at least hinted at this, referring to the fired workers as “they” rather than “we.” But that distinction was conveniently lost in the broader narrative CBS pushed. Instead, viewers were left with the impression that these were seasoned government employees, victims of a heartless administration’s cuts.
Dubard went further, claiming the Trump administration isn’t “looking for competency” in government employees but instead demanding “pure loyalty tests.” That accusation conveniently ignores the reality of what’s happening: Trump’s government cuts are targeted at bloated programs and unnecessary spending, something every president has done in one form or another.
The media’s approach here is nothing new. As conservative radio host Erick Erickson pointed out, “When Democrats are in charge, the press highlights beneficiaries of policies. When Republicans are in charge, the press highlights victims of policies.”
He’s absolutely right. Where were the sympathetic profiles of workers laid off when Biden shut down the Keystone XL pipeline? Where were the emotional sit-down interviews with Americans whose livelihoods were destroyed by COVID lockdowns? The press doesn’t tell those stories when the consequences of policies don’t align with their preferred narrative.