Richmond, VA – According to a new report from the Washington Post, Trump’s plan to cut jobs in the federal workforce could “act like a negative economic shock” to Virginia’s economy. The report notes that Hung Cao has called for the ouster of most senior civil servants in the FBI and DOJ, going so far as to say he wants to “chop off the head” of senior law enforcement leadership.
“Virginia is home to nearly 150,000 dedicated federal civil servants,” Senator Kaine said. “I’ll fight dangerous efforts to transform federal employment from merit-based to a system based on political loyalty. I’ll oppose radical plans embraced by my opponent to dramatically slash the workforce because such plans would harm the services Americans depend on. And I reject his extreme, even violent, rhetoric about getting rid of law enforcement leadership.”
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Washington Post: Trump’s plan to upend federal workforce could rattle DMV economy
Laura Vozzella and Greg Schneider
August 8, 2024
- Former president Donald Trump touts himself as a businessman who will grow industry and jobs, but his policy proposals call for deep cuts and drastic changes to the D.C. area’s most valuable employer.
- Trump’s Agenda47 policy manifesto and his Republican Party platform seek to “shatter the Deep State” with actions that experts say could be devastating to the area’s economy, such as: Moving up to 100,000 federal government positions “out of Washington to places filled with patriots who love America.” Stripping civil service protections from tens of thousands of federal employees and installing political allies in their jobs. Eliminating the U.S. Department of Education. Undertaking an “overhaul” of other federal departments and agencies, including those overseeing national security and intelligence.
- Many economists are not so sanguine, citing the region’s unique dependence on government jobs. Virginia, Maryland and D.C. are among the top four jurisdictions nationwide for federal civilian employees: The District has the largest number (160,692), followed by California (142,038), Virginia (140,397) and Maryland (138,942), according to a Congressional Research Service report released in September.
- Those federal civil servants make up more than 10 percent of the civilian workforce in Virginia and Maryland — the highest share of any states in the Lower 48, said Lombard, the U-Va. demographer. In the District, civil servants are more than a quarter of the workforce, he said. Those workers are the highest-paid federal employees of any region of the country, earning about double the median salary of employees at private companies, Lombard said. Virginia studies have shown that federal spending accounts for roughly a third of the state’s economy.
- A sudden cut in the federal workforce could “act like a negative economic shock to the economies of the two states and Washington, D.C.,” Robert McNab, director of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University, said in a written response to questions from The Post.
- And Hung Cao, the Republican challenging Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in November, has called for the ouster of the most senior civil servants in the FBI and the rest of the Justice Department. “The country has lost faith in our Justice Department, and the only way to [restore] it is to really cut off the heads. … Really, really chop off the head of that Justice Department that’s doing really nefarious things,” Cao said at a May 7 meeting with Log Cabin Republicans.
- In a written statement to The Post, Cao also said job cuts are needed to rein in federal spending and develop an economy “that is not built on the backs of the American taxpayer.”
- Kaine, who is seeking a third term as senator this fall, said Cao’s comments are out of line.
- “Virginia is home to more than 150,000 dedicated federal civil servants,” Kaine said in a text message to The Post. “I’ll fight dangerous efforts to transform federal employment from merit-based to a system based on political loyalty. I’ll oppose radical plans embraced by my opponent to dramatically slash the workforce because such plans would harm the services Americans depend on. And I reject his extreme, even violent, rhetoric about getting rid of law enforcement leadership.”
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