Rumana Ahmed is a Muslim. She wears a hijab. And she has been working at the White House since 2011. Under President Obama, she was promoted to work at the National Security Council from the Office of Public Engagement. Since then, she has served as an adviser to President Obama, particularly in how he addressed and considered American Muslims. When Donald Trump won, most people in her shoes would have walked away instantly and found a new job. After all, Trump had traversed the country for two years spouting racist, xenophobic, sexist drivel, with a particular focus on anti-Muslim rhetoric.

But that's not what Rumana Ahmed did. She decided to stay on despite her disagreements, because protecting what America stands for is even more important when what it stands for is threatened. Then, eight days after the inauguration, she had to quit. Ahmed wrote an eye-opening piece about her experience for The Atlantic, which shows just how quickly the White House's culture changed on January 23, 2017.

The weeks leading up to the inauguration prepared me and my colleagues for what we thought would come, but not for what actually came. On Monday, January 23, I walked into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, with the new staffers there. Rather than the excitement I encountered when I first came to the White House under Obama, the new staff looked at me with a cold surprise. The diverse White House I had worked in became a monochromatic and male bastion.

But it wasn't just the whiteness that was surprising. It was the dysfunction. It was as if the entire national-security apparatus had been set on fire.

Decision-making authority was now centralized to a few in the West Wing. Frustration and mistrust developed as some staff felt out of the loop on issues within their purview. There was no structure or clear guidance. Hallways were eerily quiet as key positions and offices responsible for national security or engagement with Americans were left unfilled.

But perhaps the most painful and infuriating part of Ahmed's account is when she finally—after eight days! That's how fucked up this administration is!—decided to quit after Donald Trump's Oh, are those Muslim countries? I didn't even realize! Muslim ban was signed.