ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Wes Moore today released the following statement on the announcement by the Trump Administration that it will pursue further federal workforce reductions in force:
“This is the latest chapter in a campaign of cruelty and recklessness that is breaking essential programs that working people rely on, driving up prices, disrespecting working families, pushing up the nation’s unemployment rate, and sending America’s economy into a ditch. This decision by the White House to use Trump’s shutdown as an excuse to fire people from their jobs is wrong, and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.
“Maryland is home to more than 260,000 federal workers, and Marylanders are paying the highest price. These are dedicated public servants who devote their careers to keeping our food safe, maintaining public health, and ensuring our seniors, veterans, and children receive the support they need. Our citizens’ lives and livelihoods are being pushed even further into jeopardy. As Maryland continues to lose additional jobs, our economy will suffer more.
“We will continue to do everything in our power to protect our people, from offering enhanced Unemployment Insurance to connecting laid-off federal workers with additional career training. But no state can fill the enormous gap that this White House created. All fifty states are being forced to fundamentally rethink their relationship with the federal government, especially with a president who continues to look at us and say: ‘You’re on your own.’”