Donald Trump's plans for federal workers worry them

Donald Trump has won the White House again, and aside from his ambitious first-day projects on immigration and the economy, he also has plans to change government structures.

Mr. Trump has proposed moving thousands of federal jobs outside Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC, raising concerns among federal workers about their future.

According to AP News, under his Agenda 47 project, the Republican said he expects to relocate 100,000 workers when he starts office.

The relocation would profoundly affect local communities. The news agency said DC has about 160,000 federal jobs. Maryland and Virginia have about 140,000 each.

The news agency spoke with workers who describe the anxiety they are facing at the prospect of sudden relocation, without time to find new schools for their children or jobs for their spouses.

In 2016, Mr. Trump suddenly relocated 75 jobs from the Department of Agriculture, but less than 40 moved, AP News said. Many chose to retire or quit, hurting the agency.

The plan also troubled other Republicans, like former Governor Larry Hogan, who lost a highly competitive Senate race in Maryland with federal relocation eclipsing the campaign.

Federal workers are a lifeline for small businesses and communities. Thousands of workers buy in local stores, fill schools, and dynamize the housing market, AP News explained.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Tay Gibson, a local service manager, told the news agency that he fears the ripple effect the transfer could have on businesses like the one he works on across a federal office.

The concerns over Agenda 47 add to the anxieties over Project 2025, which aims to eliminate many federal jobs. Mr. Trump has distanced himself from the proposal but not from its writers, and his cabinet has not yet been formed.

"I think the employees would look dimly on arbitrary or capricious decisions that didn't seem to make any business or operational sense," Michael Knowles, President of a chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees, told AP News.

Photo: Arlington Research / Unsplash

Still, many Trump voters might have perceived the plan as a positive move toward reducing massive government and federal costs.

Filipe Campante, a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University, said that some could see it as an effort to move the "deep state" away from government.

However, Professor Campante explained that capital cities with federal employees near politicians exist for a reason. He said physical interactions are essential for accountability.

Photo: Arlington Research / Unsplash

Mr. Campante believes that federal workers can more easily hold politicians accountable for the needs of their agencies and their benefit to US citizens.