Another Day, Another Attack on Virginians: Trump Threatens Not to Pay Thousands of Furloughed Workers Arrow

Winsome Earle-Sears remains silent as Trump now threatens not to pay federal workers once the government reopens

Today, in a leaked memo, the Trump administration said federal employees may not be eligible for back pay once the government reopens. This would be a gut punch to Virginia workers and the state economy, given that over 320,000 federal employees live in the Commonwealth.

A reminder: Virginia is also home to the largest number of federal contractors, who could also be impacted. Under Donald Trump, over 32,000 hard-working Virginians are on track to lose their jobs this year, and Trump has threatened even more mass firings amid the government shutdown.

Meanwhile, Virginia Republican Gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears refuses to call Trump out for his attacks on Virginia. In a recent interview, Earle-Sears refused three times to call on Trump to reverse these DOGE cuts and even stumped with one of the chief architects of DOGE.

In response, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:

"Tens of thousands of hard-working Virginians are about to see their budgets squeezed as they begin missing paychecks this month due to the Trump shutdown. Donald Trump, the king of stiffing contractors and not paying his debts, is about to make the lives of Virginia's federal workers even harder by attempting not to pay them at all. Meanwhile, Winsome Earle-Sears refuses to condemn Trump for using Virginia workers as bargaining chips. In contrast, Abigail Spanberger is laser-focused on standing up for Virginians, making Commonwealth lives easier, and creating a more affordable Virginia."