Trump moves to scrap federal pay raises

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

On Thursday, President Trump informed Congress in a letter that he intends to freeze the salaries of 2 million federal workers in 2019, seeking to avert an automatic 2.1 percent raise. "We must maintain efforts to put our nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases," the president wrote. He cited authority used by himself and previous presidents to scrap raises "because of 'national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare.'" Congress can override Trump's request, but his proposal and potential veto increases the likelihood of a pre-election government shutdown — the House has passed legislation with no mention of pay raises while the Senate set a 1.9 percent raise. The House and Senate already have to iron out differences on Trump's proposed border wall and cuts to social programs.

Lawmakers, mostly Democrats, and federal unions criticized the move, pointing to the deficit-busting $1.5 trillion tax cut Trump signed last December, his apparent general antipathy to the federal workforce, and his proclamations that America's economy is the best it has ever been.

"We cannot balance the budget on the backs of our federal employees and I will work with my House and Senate colleagues to keep the pay increase in our appropriations measures that we vote on in September," said Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.). J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, noted that a third of civilian federal employees are veterans, "while many more work to support spouses or children who are actively serving." Military personnel will get a 2.6 percent raise under a spending law Trump has already signed.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.