A majority of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors criticized Gov. Glenn Youngkin yesterday (Tuesday) for backing the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce, warning that the sweeping cuts could undermine the economy of Fairfax County and, by extension, Virginia.
Led by Chairman Jeff McKay, the mostly Democratic board suggested that Youngkin, a Republican, could support President Donald Trump’s goals or the people in Virginia he was elected to represent, including thousands of federal workers and contractors, but not both.
Stating that he was “extremely disappointed” by Youngkin, who previously expressed agreement with Trump that the federal government is “bloated,” McKay got the board’s approval for a letter urging the governor to create a central resource center where affected workers can find employment and legal assistance as well as public services, similar to a website set up by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
“The time for us to stand up and fight is now,” McKay said. “The very first step is making these resources available to people and an easy way for them to understand, and there will be other steps this board has to take, because I … am not going to sit here idling while our economy is deconstructed in a reckless way that will harm, long term, people’s lives and harm Fairfax County’s core economy for potentially decades to come, and it’s happening each and every day, sadly.”
Echoed later in the day by the Democratic Party of Virginia, the proposal was “a very modest request,” admitted Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, who chairs the board’s legislative committee.
Walkinshaw said his preference would be for Youngkin to “utilize the close personal friendship he’s developed” with Trump to confront the president and presumably get the White House to back off its gutting of the federal workforce, which has affected everyone from FBI agents and health workers to the agency that manages the country’s nuclear weapons and seasonal staff at national parks.
Potential casualties also include the Fairfax County-based search and rescue team, Virginia Task Force 1, whose international operations are funded by the now-frozen U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“I hope he will choose to stand up for the people he represents and use the relationship he’s developed with President Trump to tell the president that he’s wrong,” Walkinshaw said of Youngkin.
At a press conference yesterday morning, Youngkin acknowledged the “anxiety” felt by federal workers in Virginia and stated that the state is “preparing to provide as much support as we possibly can” to people in need of new employment, though he didn’t give specific details on when or where resources will be made available.
The governor maintained that the reductions are necessary to address “inefficiency and bloat” and asserted that they were supported by a majority of voters, though Trump lost Virginia in last year’s presidential election.
Youngkin’s argument has been shared by other Republicans in Virginia, including gubernatorial candidate and current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, who’s seeking statewide office as an aspiring successor to Earle-Sears.
In a Feb. 10 newsletter, Herrity contended that the federal government’s size and scope need to be reduced, while stressing that its workers and contractors should still be “treated with respect and gratitude for their service” — a message that McKay blasted at yesterday’s board meeting.
“I’m sorry, you’re not going to get away with saying, ‘It’s okay what’s happening, just be nice to people when you do it,’” the chairman said. “Because that’s not actually what’s happening.”
Herrity called McKay’s comments an “incredible mischaracterization” of his newsletter comments.
“You just heard me say, do I agree with the way it’s being done? Absolutely not,” Herrity said. “You’re mischaracterizing what I said. You consistently do it, and I’m not going to sit here and stand for it.”
The only Republican on the county board, Herrity expressed support for a central resource hub for affected federal workers, but he took issue with the tone of McKay’s letter, suggesting that it be reworded to say that the county board is “requesting” that Youngkin establish such a hub and remove a line about putting politics aside.
The motion to amend the letter failed after no one else on the board seconded it, and Herrity ultimately abstained from the vote.
According to McKay’s board matter, Fairfax County is home to approximately 80,000 federal government employees and over 3,800 contractors. Virginia as a whole is the largest recipient of federal contracts in the U.S., receiving more than $108 billion, including $41.3 billion invested just in Fairfax in fiscal year 2024.
In newsletters, county supervisors have pointed to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority’s jobs database as a resource for anyone seeking work. As of this writing, the portal listed nearly 93,000 open positions across Northern Virginia, led by the healthcare, e-commerce and aerospace and defense sectors.
However, many jobs may disappear as federal agencies drop contracts, McKay noted.
“It’s something we’re going to have to pay very close attention to going forward,” he said.
The full scope of the Trump administration’s downsizing and its local impact is still becoming clear, but the fallout will likely complicate an already challenging budget season for Fairfax County.
County Executive Bryan Hill unveiled a proposal for fiscal year 2026 yesterday that includes $59.8 million in program and staffing cuts to address a deficit caused, in part, by declining commercial real estate tax revenue. The advertised budget was crafted before Trump took office on Jan. 20.
Since the advertised budget was crafted before Trump took office on Jan. 20, Hill noted that county staff will “continually monitor actions at the federal level to determine if any updates to our revenue or expenditure projections are necessary.”