Congressional Democrats speak out against the buyout

Democratic members of Congress who represent Northern Virginia are speaking out against President Trump’s actions to cut the federal workforce and slash federal spending without congressional authorization.  

In an open letter sent to his constituents on Feb. 6, Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th District), urges federal employees to proceed with caution in responding to Trump’s “offer of so-called deferred resignation from the federal civil service.”

“You can see what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing,” Beyer says. “The hiring freeze, Schedule F, the mass firings, the cancellation of work arrangements and collective bargaining agreements, and the emails and statements insulting you and your work – all are designed to demoralize you, fill your workplace with chaos and fear, and get you to quit.”

A judge in Massachusetts temporarily paused the buyout program for federal workers in response to a lawsuit filed by unions. The new deadline is Monday, Feb. 10.

Trump can’t be trusted

To accept the buyout, “you must trust that Elon Musk and Donald Trump will keep their word,” Beyer says. “They both have extensive track records of dishonesty. Their emails are intentionally deceptive, and they are forcing you to make this choice on an arbitrarily rushed timeline – a longtime tactic of scammers and con artists. I do not trust them.”

“If you are concerned about your job security and think taking this offer is the lesser evil, there is no shame in that,” he says. “But you also know best what will happen if the vital services you provide are downsized, eliminated, or put in the hands of unqualified, inexperienced political flunkies.”

Calling the buyout offer a sham, Sen. Tim Kaine said, “the administration has no clear authority to offer this deal.”

Kaine also noted that the Trump administration added clauses to the deal “that allow the administration to cancel it at any time, leaving federal employees without pay.” Anyone who accepts the deal waives their rights to legal recourse.

“This is proof that Trump has no problem stiffing the American people – just like he has done before as a businessman and president,” Kaine said.

Federal workers demonized

Sen. Mark Warner, in a Feb. 6 letter to constituents promises to “speak out against President Trump’s unlawful actions, protect immigrants seeking a pathway to citizenship, and help build a business community where everyone has a fair shot at success.”

Warner has also been speaking out against Russell Vought, Trump’s pick to head the Office of Management and Budget. Vought was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 6.

“Vought is one of the key architects of Project 2025 and he has a terrifying track record of demonizing federal workers,” Warner said.

Related story: Virginia lawmakers respond to Trump’s plans to cut the federal workforce

Project 2025 lays out a plan to dismantle the federal workforce, and that is already underway. “We’re seeing vindictive orders eliminating telework, huge numbers of workers being put on administrative leave or even fired outright, and a reckless, legally dubious offer encouraging virtually all federal employees to resign in exchange for a severance payment.”

Based on Trump’s history of “stiffing the contractors at his construction business,” Warner said, “federal workers might not ever see the severance payments they were promised.”

“He’s doing everything he can to fill the federal workforce with right-wing loyalists who will do his bidding, and we can thank Vought for helping him hatch this plan,” Warner says.

Project 2025 well underway

“Donald Trump spent much of the campaign season running away from Project 2025,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (11th-District) said on MSNBC on Feb. 6. “In disavowal after disavowal, he lied to the American public about his support for the deeply unpopular agenda. Now, Project 2025 is no longer a policy document from which Republicans can run away. It has served as Trump’s playbook for his first weeks in the Oval Office.”

Connolly listed the steps in the Project 2025 “shock and awe playbook” being carried out by Trump:

• An illegal attempt to remove independent watchdogs from across the federal government in the dead of night. 
• The unlawful freezing of all foreign aid and domestic federal assistance in direct contradiction of the laws passed by Congress.
• Hostile takeovers of agencies across the federal government. 
• A purge of experts and career civil servants from the federal workforce so they can be replaced with partisan hacks and loyalists who will carry out the president’s most nefarious whims, no questions asked. 

Whistleblowers encouraged

“Trump and his acolytes are flooding the zone with one outrageous plan after another in the hopes we will balk at the sheer size and scope of their efforts,” Connolly said. “But we will not relent now. This is the time for all of us who have chosen federal service to fight back. We cannot let these attacks on our democracy go unchallenged.”

House Democrats are demanding Trump comply with the law, are fighting back against Trump and Elon Musk’s “outrageous assault” on USAID, he said, and promoting legislation to “reverse the president’s attempt to politicize the civil service and replace thousands of experts with his own cronies.”

He says Democrats on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee are prepared to hear from whistleblowers throughout the federal government. “We will respect your confidentiality, protect your identity and use any identifying information you provide only to contact you about your concerns.”

Connolly says, “We will pressure the Republican majorities in both chambers to muster what little courage they have left to stand up to this would-be dictator in the White House.”