Without getting too political or specific, I work in a federal agency that is in big trouble during Trump Times.
My current department (Department Current) is especially endangered. Like, the department is in the news as a target. No one knows what will happen, but it seems likely the major project I work on will lose funding. Probably this will take a while, but it may not. I have no idea what will happen to employees if we lose funding - this is all unprecedented - but I think a reorg is way more likely than layoffs. I'm pretty certain I won't lose my job.
A department I worked in previously (Department Past) reached out to see if I wanted to rejoin the team in a lateral move. No one knows what will happen, but it is probably a much safer area to be, much less politicized. They even suggested I could switch on paper to their department, but stay in my current area as a detail for up to a year to finish my projects. It's a very generous and kind offer.
This seems like a no brainer, I know, but the problem is I LIKE my current job. I like it a lot, more than I've ever liked a job.
I left Department Past because of a bad boss (and I wouldn't be rejoining her team if I returned), but I love Department Current more than expected. My coworkers are fantastic, young and smart and funny and they are such good friends, I do not want to leave them (only one of them is looking, currently). The building is a much nicer environment. I have an almost alarming amount of autonomy. I enjoy the work. I like my boss and have a strong sense of loyalty towards her and the team. I don't want to tell her I'm leaving, despite her best efforts.
But, probably everything is going to fall apart. Department Past makes more sense, logically. I could wait until things actually start falling apart, which would make the decision easier, but if there is a hiring freeze (which there will be) internal movement might be more difficult.
I honestly wonder if I can stay in this agency at all, given how our goals are going to change under the new administration. But I live very close to work and make a good salary and you could also argue I have an ethical obligation to stay. And, ethically, I'm probably more needed in Current Department (if it even remains a department) than Past Department -- Past Department is full of people with my skills. Current Department has almost none.
Fear of change is coming into play on both sides here, as the status quo is (almost definitely) kaput. At the very least I expect there are going to be lots of leadership changes in Department Current. Department Past has already had a little shakeup but I do not think there will be more.
And then the fact that this is all Trump's fault makes it almost impossible to think about clearly. If Clinton had won, none of this would be happening. I am mourning the election results on so many levels that I just can't think.
TL;DR - preemptively leave a job I love just because I can see the writing on the wall, or wait until it all falls apart even though my safety net might no longer be there?