Virginia’s top Democrat has raised concerns about President-elect Trump’s Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) plan to notify a percentage of the federal workforce “you’re fired” in the sake of efficiency.
The state Senate’s top Republican reacted on Thursday, claiming the majority party is “asking the wrong question.”
Earlier this week, House Speaker Don Scott Jr. addressed a letter to the Commonwealth’s unemployment department warning of the consequences of such a scheme, including a potential increase in jobless claims.
“We should all be concerned about what these changes mean for the employees who are raising their families in Virginia, paying taxes in Virginia, and calling Virginia home,” Scott wrote to Virginia Employment Commissioner Demetrios Melis in a letter reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“Taking President-elect Trump at his word that he will immediately move to downsize the workforce and relocate agencies, we can safely assume that a large portion of our workforce that resides in the commonwealth will be negatively affected,” said Scott, who represents Portland.
Scott apparently believes Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads area, where he represents, would be severely damaged.
“I am concerned that, in the following months, not only will our country see a significant increase in unemployment as a result of the proposed changes to our administration. But, more crucially, such changes will have a negative impact on Virginians, the state’s unemployment rate, and the broader economy,” he told the Times-Dispatch.
However, Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-New Kent, stated that the notion of DOGE addresses a larger concern for Virginians and US taxpayers in terms of economically prudent administration.
“That’s the wrong question,” McDougle said during an interview on Thursday.
“The question should be whether we are taking monies earned and paid by Virginians to the federal government and spending them properly.
“If the federal government is paying people to do jobs they shouldn’t be doing, then that’s spending taxpayer dollars unwisely.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump’s DOGE co-leader, previously stated to Fox Business, “We expect mass reductions … [and] certain agencies to be deleted outright.”
Elon Musk, Ramaswamy’s equivalent, has expressed similar thoughts, including the tweet “Delete CFPB,” which refers to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Furthermore, Sen. Joni Ernst, the Iowa Republican regarded as the top DOGE politician in the upper chamber, is leading a plan to move roughly one-third of federal employees outside the District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia area. Ernst’s proposed legislation is known by its lengthy acronym, the DRAIN THE SWAMP Act.
Ernst also wanted answers from Biden agency directors regarding the work-from-home privileges that their employees enjoy.
In his remarks Thursday, McDougle said that if Democrats were so concerned about the issue, they should have objected to proposals to divert Virginia public cash to the Washington-area Metro system in order to “subsidize” the lack of ridership caused by Ernst’s telework restrictions.
“I didn’t feel our Democratic friends were as concerned with the millions of dollars going to fund Metro amid [federal workers not being required to] go into the office and having to subsidize them,” says McDougle.
Virginia’s 2024 budget contained around $144 million in Metro funds. Metro CEO Randy Clarke stated in June that the transit agency identified an additional $50 million in efficiency for its almost $5 billion budget, according to several publications.
Earlier this month, a leading Democrat on the state House Labor Committee said she was “very disappointed” with the response from Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s staff when she expressed worries about prospective federal workforce cuts.
State Delegate Candi Mundon King, D-Dumfries, noted in November that thousands of federal workers live in the state and in her district, and she called DOGE’s plan “disastrous” after the Virginia Republican Party praised the “streamlining of] government bureaucracy” as “good for all Americans, including Virginians.”
Mundon King’s seat is in the Washington suburb of Prince William County, which was previously led by prominent Republican Corey Stewart but has recently shifted substantially Democratic.
“No wonder Northern Virginia has lost faith in Virginia Republicans,” Mundon King said.
Youngkin, a successful corporate executive before entering politics, previously stated that anyone leaving the private sector to work in government will quickly understand the need for significant changes.
“Whether it’s me entering state government in Virginia or President Trump returning to the federal government, we all know it’s inefficient. It does not operate with the efficiency that you would expect from a corporation,” he told The Daily Progress of Charlottesville.
Government efficiency efforts may lead to employment losses for the federal government. The nice thing about the Commonwealth of Virginia is that we have approximately 300,000 vacant positions,” he said.
Melis also informed Scott that Virginia is “well prepared” to adapt to changes in employment data and assured Mundon King earlier this month that some of the fears raised were unfounded, according to The Roanoke Times.
Youngkin earlier this month encouraged members of Trump’s new administration to live in Virginia rather than Maryland or the District of Columbia, citing lower taxes and higher-ranked schools.
Youngkin spokesperson Christian Martinez told HeadlinesForever Digital that Virginia’s economy was “stagnant” and the unemployment system was “in shambles” when the Republican assumed office following eight years of Democratic governorship.
“Commonsense policies to lower the cost of living and bring real business-like efficiency to government have helped fix both,” Martinez told the newspaper.
“The governor appreciates Speaker Scott’s recent commitments to support further tax relief, which, along with a roaring economy and over 300,000 open jobs, means Virginia is in a great position as the president works to shrink the bloated federal government.”