Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Trumpers are laying off federal government employees – they’ll just have to hire them back, again, when they realize, oops, screwed up.
Unfortunately, that may take a few weeks.
Meantime, Russ Vought, the Office of Management and Budget director, who a Republican congressman said last week has been dreaming of this moment since puberty – too much information there, man – he sure ain’t doing Winsome Earle-Sears any favors.
Unemployment was already up in the range of 30 percent-plus year-over-year in the Northern Virginia counties ringing DC before Vought started getting a chubby.
This, as Earle-Sears was already down double-digits to Abigail Spanberger in the polls, before she went on several rants in Thursday’s TV debate – one claiming efforts to enact government policy banning gay marriage and restricting the right of LGBTQ+s to work are “not discrimination.”
The MAGAs putting tens of thousands of families on the unemployment lines ahead of the election doesn’t figure to be wind to her sails.
“Just last night on the debate stage, my opponent refused to call on President Trump to stop this chaos,” Spanberger said in a statement released on Friday. “Virginians saw with their own eyes that Winsome Earle-Sears’ loyalty to Donald Trump will always come first, no matter the cost to Virginians and their families. That’s not leadership – that’s betraying the people of Virginia who she was elected to serve.
“Virginians deserve a governor with a record of bringing people together to stand up for the Commonwealth of Virginia – not falling in line behind Donald Trump. Unlike my opponent, I will never be afraid to stand up to the president when he attacks Virginians’ jobs and threatens our economy. As the next governor of Virginia, I will always put Virginians first.”
You can hear the commercial being cut now.
The 2025 state elections aren’t the only thing being impacted here. The 2026 midterms begin, pretty much, the day after we’re done counting votes for 2025.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and all 11 sitting Virginia members of Congress are up for re-election in 2026.
Narrator: Democrats have a 6-5 edge in the Virginia delegation, and hold both U.S. Senate seats
“Donald Trump and Russ Vought are once again showing us exactly who they are: reckless ideologues willing to inflict real pain on hardworking Americans to score political points. They have repeatedly treated federal employees not as partners in serving the American people, but as punching bags for their political agenda. Now, in the middle of a shutdown manufactured by Republicans – who control the House, the Senate, and the White House – they’re doubling down by laying off federal workers, turning their own failure to govern into a direct attack on the people who keep this country running and jeopardizing vital government services,” Warner and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in a joint statement on Friday.
“Let’s be very clear: this is not an unfortunate byproduct of the government shutdown, but a deliberate choice. Republicans are intentionally holding federal workers hostage to force through their agenda driving up health care costs for millions. Instead of keeping health premiums affordable, the Trump administration is using America’s public servants as pawns to advance policies that harm working families. It’s irresponsible, it’s cruel, and it won’t work. It’s time for Republicans in Congress to end this shutdown and work with us to keep healthcare affordable for all Americans.”
This shutdown nonsense from the MAGAs is all just for show, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have long-term impacts.
“Since February, the Trump administration has fired tens of thousands of government employees, only to rehire many of them later because their work was deemed essential,” Hampton Roads Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott said.
“In addition to wasting millions of taxpayer dollars to fire and rehire government employees, arbitrarily firing government employees means there are fewer people to help administer essential programs. Moreover, I fear the lasting impact of mass firings will be an incredible loss of invaluable institutional knowledge. Furthermore, random and chaotic layoffs will make it difficult to recruit qualified employees in the future,” Scott said.
“The House Republicans have been on vacation for three weeks, and Speaker Johnson just announced plans to extend his vacation for another week. Active-duty service members will miss their first paycheck in five days. The government has been shut down for 10 days. Congressional Republicans need to get back to work and negotiate with Democrats to reopen the government and reduce the cost of Americans’ healthcare.”
Northern Virginia Democratic Congressman Don Beyer points out that not only is using the shutdown as a pretext to lay off federal wrongs dumb, it’s also – get this – illegal.
“Everyone should understand that a government shutdown does not require or enable mass firings of federal workers, in fact, it forbids it,” Beyer said. “President Trump and Russ Vought have been firing federal workers by the thousands continuously since the beginning of the DOGE disaster, and as numerous Republicans have admitted, they plainly hoped to use the pretext of a shutdown to fire even more American workers. But directing these firings during a shutdown violates the law, and the laws they are violating are criminal statutes.
“This administration’s corruption is only matched by its willingness to sabotage our economy and raise prices for the American people. Trump and Vought’s lawless contempt for Congress’ powers under the Constitution will also make it harder to get the bipartisan deal that is needed to end this shutdown,” Beyer said.
“I will continue doing all I can to support and protect federal workers and contractors in Northern Virginia and across the country. To those workers, I say again: you deserve so much better than this, and while I know this is yet another dark moment in a dark year, please do not lose hope. The country still sees and values your service, and your work is not in vain.”
Real numbers: more than 200,000 federal workers have been laid off by Trump, Russ “Master of His Domain” Vought and Elon Musk/DOGE.
“This pattern of needless cruelty has left millions uncertain for their lives and livelihoods in the coming weeks and months,” Richmond Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan said.
“Our federal workers are not faceless bureaucrats. They are the people who ensure our water is safe to drink and the air is clean to breathe. They’re the ones who defend and uphold the civil rights of our young students. Their dedicated service improves our lives. In Virginia, the state with the second highest number of federal employees, we know just how valuable our federal workforce is and what we stand to lose through mass firings,” McClellan said.
“Virginia’s economy and our communities have been hit especially hard this year as the Trump administration kills jobs and does nothing to address rising costs. These firings will be contested in court. I stand with our federal workers and will do everything in my power to ensure they receive the support and protections they need ahead.”
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Chris Graham
