Governor Virginia defends federal jobs, arouses controversy

The governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, applauded the Government Efficiency Department (Doge) for his efforts under the Trump administration to reduce federal expenses. The governor said that the process aims to improve the efficiency in the government. Youngkin acknowledged that some jobs in his state will be lost as a result.

“The Americans voted for a more efficient federal government and this is exactly what President (Donald) Trump and the Administration work,” said Youngkin, as quoted by the NBC.

“We must press before and lead the efficiency in our federal government and, as a result of the management of these efficiency, I expect some virginians to lose their jobs,” he added.

However, the Virginia governor came with a new initiative to facilitate federal employees who lost their jobs in the state. The site, Virginiahasjobs.com claims to have links to about 250,000 vacancies, including 100,000 in Northern Virginia.

“Virginia has jobs” is an opportunity for every Virginian – and for every business – to be part of our flourishing economy, with over 250,000 jobs open https://t.co/8fbkoeihdz! pic.twitter.com/xh263laaqj
– Governor Glenn Youngkin (@Governorva) February 24, 2025

Democrats have strongly criticized Youngkin. The president of the House of Delegates in Virginia, Don Scott, called him “shameful, embarrassing and dehumanizing.”

“For the governor to tell people who lose their living on a website of unemployment,” Scott said. “It’s embarrassing; it’s dehumanizing.”

Scott claimed that the governor was trying to play both sides by applauding the dismissals and trying to claim that the state has enough vacant places for the fired workers.

The job site states indeed, the market will fight to adapt to federal workers

The popular site for finding jobs, indeed, stressed that the market will fight in finding sufficient vacancies for fired federal workers. The main reason is that federal employees are “knowledge workers” who work with their minds and not with their hands.

“Given the extent of the announced availability … it is possible that the private sector does not hire enough to absorb these workers,” NBC said.

Virginia Employment Commission benefits from a distant cry of lost federal salary

Glenn Youngkin has assured voters that the commission for employment in Virginia (Vec) will help the affected federal workers. Vec will provide unemployment insurance benefits in the state. The maximum benefits it offers are $ 387 per week, translating to $ 20,000 per year. However, according to the personnel management office, an average federal worker wins more than five times this amount.

According to Vec, 300 federal workers have already submitted initial unemployment applications, 120 employees of the federal contract have also submitted applications.