Youngkin announces resources to support federal workers

Amid federal workers facing the threat of layoffs, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced on Monday that Virginia has 250,000 jobs open across various industries and unveiled an initiative to help connect the state’s workforce to these positions.

Tens of thousands of workers have been fired under President Donald Trump’s administration. During a press event at the Capital One Financial headquarters in McLean, Youngkin said he had “extraordinary empathy” for Virginians in the federal workforce who “are experiencing real concerns.” However, he indicated support for the Trump administration’s goals.

“Listen, we have a federal government that is inefficient, and we have an administration that is taking on that challenge of rooting out waste, fraud and abuse,” Youngkin said. “And driving efficiency in our federal government needs to happen.”

While Youngkin said he didn’t believe the federal workforce was “at fault,” he said, “any CEO who steps into a position where there is an organization that has got such deep financial challenges is going to have to make a change.”

Youngkin acknowledged the large number of federal workers in the state and said he wants to help those who experience job dislocation to find a new career in Virginia. He announced the launch of the VirginiaHasJobs.com online resource people can use to connect with those opportunities, which he said “stretch across every industry imaginable,” including advanced manufacturing, health care, space, education and law enforcement.

Federal employees started receiving emails Saturday asking them to explain what they did for work last week. Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, wrote on social media platform X that “failure to respond will be taken as resignation.”

Musk argued the email is meant to identify “outright fraud.”

“The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all!” he wrote on X.

However, The Washington Post reported Monday that administration officials at defense and intelligence offices, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, have advised their staff not to respond, noting the agency’s sensitive and classified work.

The Washington Post also reported that the email sent to workers didn’t mention the potential consequence of being fired for not responding, which lawyers have said would be illegal.

Youngkin also announced a federal worker support resource package to support Virginians affected by federal workforce changes and help match their skills with open positions. All state resources for federal workers are available on the governor’s website.

The Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus released a statement Monday criticizing Youngkin’s comments on federal job losses as “nothing more than empty rhetoric lacking both transparency and accountability.” While the caucus expressed appreciation for the governor compiling a list of employment resources, they accused him of failing to stand up for his constituents as job losses rise.

“This isn’t just ‘workforce realignment’ or ’separating from an employer,’ this is Elon Musk wreaking havoc in D.C., the President giving him free rein to fire qualified federal employees, and Governor Youngkin standing by in complete silence as the lives of his constituents hang in the balance,” the statement said.