Editorial: Virginia needs Youngkin to oppose plans to gut the civil service

The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press Editorial Board, The Virginian-Pilot on Dec 9, 2024

Published in Op Eds

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When push comes to shove, will Gov. Glenn Youngkin stand up for Virginia workers and the commonwealth economy? That’s the question that must be asked as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.

The former and future president has been clear about his desire to gut the civil service and replace federal workers with loyalists, moves that would roil federal operations, harm tens of thousands of Virginians and hammer our state economy.

While Youngkin brushed off those concerns before Americans went to the polls, it’s high time for him to set aside party loyalty and defend Virginia’s interests — the job for which he was elected.

When he first mounted a campaign for governor in 2021, Youngkin tried his best to distance himself from Trump. This was in the aftermath of the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, when Trump incited a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol and injured more than 140 police officers in a desperate attempt to stop certification of the 2020 presidential election.

But Youngkin was also coy about the outcome of that race, flirting with Trump’s unfounded lie that the election was stolen from him, before changing his tune once he had secured the Republican nomination for governor and seeking support from moderate voters. It was a successful strategy, leading to his win in 2021.

Trump made a concerted pitch to win Virginia’s electoral votes in the months leading up to the Nov. 5 vote. Youngkin’s support made sense ideologically, as they are both Republicans who share some policy priorities and hold similar views about the role of the federal government.

It made less sense practically, however, since Trump made promises throughout his campaign that would cause deep and lasting harm to the commonwealth.

The most prominent of these are his proposals to radically change how the federal government operates. Trump wants to slash federal programs and eliminate scores of federal workers. He has called for moving the operations of many agencies out of the District. And he has called for ending employment protections enshrined in the civil service system.

Could he do so? He’s tried before. Toward the end of his first administration, Trump signed an executive order that would have turned tens of thousands of federal jobs into at-will hires, meaning the president could fire them and replace them with loyalists. President Joe Biden rescinded it before it could take effect.

Civil service protections exist to shield federal employees from political interference and to ensure that the work of government is carried out by people with experience and knowledge. Stripping away their employee protections would be like pouring sugar in Washington’s gas tank, ruining the system that allows the federal government to operate.

Approximately 150,000 federal employees live in the commonwealth, so all of these initiatives would affect Virginia residents and constrict our economy. Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia would see the worst suffering, but thousands of federal workers live in Virginia’s rural communities now due to work-at-home policies that began during the pandemic.

“If President-elect Trump comes in and takes an axe to cut back … without looking at the programs that he’s cutting, no area in the country will get hit harder than Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia,” Sen. Mark Warner told Virginia Business.

In August, Youngkin brushed off concerns about how Trump’s plans to overhaul the federal government would affect Virginians, saying, “There are fabulous opportunities for folks to find a new employer in Virginia should the one they work for move away.”

That was incredibly callous and insulting to tens of thousands of Virginia residents. But now he has the opportunity to redeem himself.

As governor, Youngkin is the most visible advocate on behalf of the commonwealth. And Virginia needs him to make clear that radical changes to the civil service or moving agencies away from Washington would be unacceptable.

It’s high time Youngkin stood up for Virginia. We need him on our side more than ever.

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