Trump impact: Virginia cuts would extend beyond federal workers

This story is part of WTOP’s ongoing series, Trump Impact, which looks at how the new administration could change the DC region.

The DC region is bracing for what’s to come as President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to cut spending and reform the federal government.

So how could that impact Northern Virginia?

“I think the likely scenario is that we will lose some federal jobs,” said Terry Clower, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. “That will come from … cutbacks and some relocations.”

Trump had often said he would give Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk a formal role overseeing a group that would recommend ways to cut spending and make the federal government more efficient.

Now Trump has nominated Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, which is not a government agency. The department’s acronym, “DOGE,” is a nod to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.

Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy would work from outside the government to provide “advice and guidance” to the White House, and would work with the Office of Management and Budget to “achieve large-scale structural reforms and create an entrepreneurial approach to government that has never been seen before. .”

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The president-elect said the pair would “pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, eliminate redundant regulations, reduce wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies.”

At one point, Musk suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings — nearly a third of total annual government spending.

But broad cuts would impact more than just federal workers.

“That will be felt by contractors,” Clower said. “Many of those contractors have their work here in the Greater Washington area and in Northern Virginia.”

According to Clower, Virginia may not be as vulnerable as Maryland and D.C., as much of the commonwealth’s federal employment comes from the defense and homeland security agencies.

“I haven’t heard anything from the new administration that talks about eliminating those specific features,” Clower said. “If you have a massive program of mass deportations, you’re probably going to have to add some staff.”

However, when it comes to significant job losses within the federal workforce, you cannot escape the impact it would have on the local economy.

“It will be felt in all areas of Northern Virginia if (Trump) impacts federal employment because those federal workers are economic actors within this region,” Clower said. “We talk about economic multipliers when we add jobs to regions; Unfortunately, the multipliers work when you take away jobs.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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