President Trump wants to freeze the pay of most federal workers in 2027, an idea that is meeting stiff resistance from Washington-area Democrats and labor unions for government employees.
Mr. Trump wants to keep federal workers’ pay at 2026 levels but exempt federal law enforcement by giving them a 3.8% pay raise.
It is the second year in a row that Mr. Trump has tried to freeze federal pay.
Unions aren’t happy. They say federal workers serve vital roles but receive salaries that have not kept pace with the cost of living.
“Federal employees treat our veterans and support our military, safeguard our food and air, process retirement and disability payments for tens of millions of Americans every month, and so much more. Making sure they earn a fair wage isn’t just good for them — it’s good for the quality of government services and the people we all serve,” American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley said Monday.
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat whose district includes 75,000 federal civilian employees, said the move would “only further reduce morale and retention at agencies and make it harder to recruit the best and brightest to serve.”
Mr. Hoyer tied it to Mr. Trump’s efforts last year, through the Department of Government Efficiency, to reduce the federal workforce by tens of thousands of people through layoffs and buyout options.
“If we want a government that reflects the best of America and can deliver for the safety, health, and opportunity of our people, we must invest in our federal workforce,” Mr. Hoyer said.
Mr. Trump says the federal government is bloated and wasting taxpayer dollars, so he is trying to trim it. When official jobs data showed worrying signs last year, he attributed it to a reduction in the federal workforce and said focusing on private-sector growth is the best thing to do for U.S. debt and economic growth.
“I have determined that for 2027, base pay and locality pay for civilian federal employees will not change from the 2026 rates,” Mr. Trump wrote to Congress in August. “This decision will maintain fiscal responsibility without harming the government’s ability to recruit and retain well qualified employees.”
It is unclear whether his plan will remain in place. Mr. Trump has toggled between pay freezes and granting small increases in the past, and Congress would override him by writing pay raises into appropriations.
Lawmakers did that frequently during Mr. Trump’s first term, and they have until December to overrule him, at which point the president could implement his alternative pay plan via an executive order.
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