Some states have voiced opposition to the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce federal bureaucracy.
But the Department of Government Consistency’s action also holds a silver lining for rulers: an opportunity to attract talent for their own state, many of which have tons of public work vacant.
Hawaii
Hawaii’s Democrat governor has criticized DOGE’s efforts to reduce the size of the president’s labor. At the same time, Gov. Josh Green (D-HI ) has taken advantage of the situation to fill yawning gaps in his own state workforce.
” We have a complete, massive position problem”, the government told Hawaii Pubic Radio in February. Hawaii currently has 4, 020 jobs in the civil service and 1, 005 jobs in the executive branch. So we can use a lot of people”.
Green cited the efforts Hawaii has taken to hire federal workers as they were fired in responses to the Washington Examiner.
” We have launched Operation Hire Hawaiʻi through our Department of Human Resources Development. Within 14 weeks, it will quickly transition qualified candidates to career options across the state, and candidates are being referred to hiring departments every day. We have had a few well-attended getting fair, and more are coming in the next few days”, Green said.
According to Brenna Hashimoto, director of Hawaii’s Human Resources Department, the condition has been conducting the activity for about a month and has been able to quickly locate 50 to 60 job listings for hire.
” We’ve received nearly 1, 700 software, which for Hawaii, is a great answer rate. We’re seeing incredibly strong applicant pools, especially in areas like information technology, and we’ve listed nearly 300 applications, which is fantastic. It’s an area where we’ve got a lot of have across our state firms, and but that’s really promising”, Hashimoto said.
She cited factors like the country’s dynamic income and pension benefits as motivating them to apply for a state work. She also pointed to individual benefits, which she called” next to none”, including expansive ill keep plans, “great” health benefits, a solid number of state festivals, and flexible work schedules.
We take care of our employees and ensure that they have a healthy work-life balance, she said. ” So we feel like we’re very competitive when it comes to employment benefits”.
The positive aspects of DOGE’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce, Hashimoto said, are that many of our positions will be filled.
” We have 4, 000 vacancies. Our current workforce is under a lot of strain, and it means that we are unable to fulfill some of our duty to our community and to our citizens by providing government services effectively and efficiently. So to the extent that we can bring in more talent, these experienced individuals from the federal government, that’s extremely exciting to us”, she continued. We’re eager to welcome them because we think they can immediately affect our workplaces and lessen some of the stress that openings cause for our current employees.” It’s attractive, and we’re eagerly.”
New York
Gov. Jerry Brown made an effort to hire federal employees who were laid off by the Trump administration’s cuts. Kathy Hochul (D-NY ) launched a “You’re Hired” initiative to hire workers fired by DOGE, created a job board advertising over 7, 000 job openings in state government, and expanded a” New York Wants You” initiative with a billboard campaign in Washington, D. C.’s Union Station and New York’s Moynihan Station.
The federal government might say, “You’re fired, but here in New York, we say, “You’re hired,” but that’s not what we’re saying.” In fact, we love federal workers”, Hochul said. We value public service, regardless of your qualifications.
A slew of other states have launched initiatives to attract these workers, but New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon told the Washington Examiner,” We did it first”.
She said,” We are very excited to help these workers who have been displaced.” ” We value their service. We want them here in New York because we are aware of their level of expertise.
Reardon names a new program developed by New York’s Department of Civil Service that expedites the hiring of fired federal workers as the top factor that sets the Empire State’s recruitment effort apart from the rest of the country. She said that the Statewide NY Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement program “removes all of the Civil Service testing obstacles that you would have,” which is significant.
” It used to be that in order to get into civil service jobs in New York State, you had to take an exam, you had to wait for it to be held, and you had to wait for it to be scored”, Reardon said.
She claimed that” that’s gone” under the HELPS program.
Reardon also touted 96 career centers across New York, free webinars and workshops detailing career advice, and special treatment for veterans offered by the state as incentives for workers to make New York their new home and fill over 7, 000 open civil service positions.
Additionally, we’ve put together a brochure to highlight job opportunities, the support that affected federal employees can expect, and resources for job seekers within state government. As part of this effort, we at the New York State Department of Labor are hosting a series of informative webinars to help these impacted workers”, she said. And these workshops are a true deep dive into what our resources are. That includes things like interview tips, resume writing assistance, and what it’s like working for New York State. All of this is offered at no cost, of course.
” We]also] have services in all the career centers that actually serve just veterans to put you in a priority situation in the career center. So make sure to use your veteran status as well to inform others and open the door,” Reardon continued.
Maryland
Under the leadership of Gov. The Maryland Public Servants Resource Website for workers affected by federal workforce layoffs, which was launched by Wes Moore (D-MD), has attracted 84,500 visitors since its launch. The state has also hosted a series of job fairs in partnership with counties and local leaders, as well as information sessions that have each been attended by hundreds of interested applicants, numbers much larger than the state typically sees. Additionally, Moore has also directed his agencies to take action to support the influx of federal employees who might be interested in filling Maryland state jobs. He also has launched the Teach Maryland website to assist those who have lost their jobs transition to a teaching career in the state, which is struggling due to a lack of teachers.
” You mobilize and in Maryland, this is our moment to mobilize”, Moore said during a Feb. 28 press conference.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) criticized DOGE for firing federal employees in comments to the Washington Examiner.
” Team Maryland stands with our dedicated federal civil servants – we value their skills, their patriotism, and their commitment to working on behalf of the American people”, the senator said. ” While we fight to stop Donald Trump and Elon Musk from vilifying them and the important public services they provide, we are also working to give them additional support, including resources and opportunities to put their skills to use for Maryland,” said the group. That’s because in Maryland, we respect and appreciate all that public workers do to strengthen our communities”.
At Georgia Southern University, Dr. Joseph Kennedy, a political expert on federal bureaucracy, suggested some of the state executives spearheading efforts to recruit federal workers were aiming to raise their national profile in order to prepare for potential presidential bids in the future.
” American politics has become nationalized”, he told the Washington Examiner. ” To that extent. It doesn’t surprise me that especially Democratic governors would be, you know, because national politics, hearing so much of what’s going on in their states would be particularly focused on]recruiting fired federal employees ]”.
However, Dr. Paul Light, a political expert and professor emeritus at New York University, thinks that a similar attempt might be disastrous. The general image is that government employees are overpaid, underworked,” not fully engaged, and maybe they’re slipping here and there”, he said.
It’s not typically seen as a major political player or major personnel player. I mean, basically, d the general position is that hiring more people at the federal, state, and local level is not exactly the way to get elected”, he said. ” Governors and others are very careful not to sort of spring out and say,” Oh, we’ve doubled the number of feds.”
Moore, who has been rumored as a contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination himself, most recently attended a hiring event in Frederick County that attracted more than 900 registrants.
Officials in Maryland and other states reported to the Washington Examiner that concerns about potential bias from fired federal employees in Maryland are largely unfounded. The wide variety of open civil service positions, as well as resume workshops and other career help services offered by states, provide the support workers need to successfully transition from federal to state government, they said.
Virginia
Gov. Glenn Youngkin launched the Virginia Has Jobs program to help laid-off federal workers find roughly 4, 500 open state jobs. The site has since received over 120, 000 visits.
” Virginia has jobs… but I particularly want our federal workers who are experiencing real anxiety and may experience job disruption to know that there is opportunity here”, Youngkin said during a Virginia Beach event last week. Your abilities and skillset are transferable to a different career in Virginia, according to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Virginia ranks third in the country in terms of the number of government workers living there. With Virginia’s over 147, 000 federal employees calling it home and the state holding elections this fall, Youngkin has made it a top priority to address concerns about DOGE’s initiative.
His Virginia Has Jobs program lies under the jurisdiction of Virginia Works, the Commonwealth’s agency for workforce development, and offers workers the opportunity to scrutinize a total of roughly 250, 000 private sector and civil service jobs.
Virginia was named by CNBC as America’s Top State for Business, and we are aware that employers require skilled workers as their businesses expand, according to Virginia Works ‘ commissioner, Nicole Overley, in a statement to the Washington Examiner. ” This initiative to connect talent with employers had been in the works starting last fall, but has been particularly timely given the ways in which it can support Virginia’s Federal workers ‘ career transitions. In these ways, it differs from other states in that” we aim to get the word out to every Virginian, including Federal employees, who are looking to transfer their valuable skills to a new role.”
President-elect Donald Trump listens as Virginia Gov. Republican governors meet with Glenn Youngkin on January 9, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida ( AP Photo/Evan Vucci).
Virginia is also running hiring events to attract workers, including newly fired federal employees.
Over the course of the last two weeks, Over the past two weeks, we saw over 5, 700 people sign up for jobs, over 300 employers, with 11, 500 openings, and 13, 000 applications for those positions, Overley said, noting that 14 % of attendees identified as recently impacted federal workers, which included 14 % of those who self-identified as recently impacted.
Overley announced to the Washington Examiner that the state will be holding a virtual hiring event focused on the Hampton Roads area on March 25.
DOGE: WHAT IS IT? WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY
Federal employees have been shuffled around the country before in 2025.
During Trump’s first term, he moved hundreds of jobs with two federal research agencies out of D. C., leading many workers who were unwilling to make the location change to quit their jobs. Some Department of Agriculture jobs relocated to the Kansas City area, while some Bureau of Land Management jobs relocated from Washington to Grand Junction, Colorado. Supporters of the changes said both moves put employees closer to the areas they were overseeing. Critics claim that it created chaos and forced civil servants to leave their positions.
