Organizational transitions are salient events in the life cycle of both public and private sector institutions. Conversely, the transition of political leadership is a recurring process embedded in the fabric of the US government structure. While transitions signal an impending shift in governance, strategies, or priorities, when managed poorly, they can lead to several negative personal and emotional consequences that can be traumatizing for federal agencies, leaders, and staff. This constructivist grounded theory study explored federal leaders' experience and subsequent interpretations of organizational trauma in the public service space during administration transitions in the federal government. The findings show strong conceptual linkages between the experiences of organizational trauma heavily researched in help-seeking spaces and those experienced in the federal government. An active social process was co-constructed with participants to demonstrate that federal leaders experience organizational trauma through 1.) uncertainty, 2.) forced silence, 3.) persistent changes with 4.) disruptive dynamics, while 5.) recognizing a cadre of emotional tensions that constrict the organization. Moreover, understanding how public service leaders contain the emotional and psychological consequences of organizational trauma that emit from the workforce while maintaining an environment of safety was foundational for the theoretical construction of the transition generated trauma and containment model and a secondary research aim. As government transitions occur, leaders uniquely position themselves to acknowledge, understand, and intervene in traumatized agencies in ways that are empathic, supportive, protective, and ultimately builds trust.