Governor Josh Shapiro signs executive order to hire fired federal workers in Pennsylvania
More federal workers are being fired as part of President Trump's initiative to scale back the federal government. A memo sent to the top veterans affairs official said the department plans to slash more than 70,000 employees starting in August.
The department said that it would return its workforce to pre-pandemic levels of just under 400,000 employees.
Meanwhile, here in Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro is trying to bring those federal workers to the state. Governor Shapiro joins several other states that have already gotten started on plans to bring those who lost their jobs into the state workforce.
"If they're qualified and they want to serve Pennsylvanians, well hear me on this, we want you on our team," Governor Shapiro said.
At a Harrisburg job fair, Governor Shapiro signed an executive order to help bring fired federal workers to Pennsylvania.
"They [the federal government] made dramatic cuts, cuts that I think make us less safe and less healthy and less protected in the United States of America," Shapiro said.
Shapiro said that more than 100,000 federal employees are from the commonwealth and his order was designed to fast track those federal workers into similar state government jobs. He said there are 5,600 openings for nurses, civil engineers, accountants, and emergency workers in the state government.
"I want to fill these vacancies, I want to fill them with federal workers who are looking for a great place to work where they will be respected and their skills will be used to help our fellow Pennsylvanians," he said.
Also rolled out was a new state career website that compares equivalent federal and state positions. Shapiro said the goal isn't to expand state government, but Nathan Benefield with the Conservative Commonwealth Foundation is skeptical.
"This doesn't seem to be in the taxpayer's best interest to go and try to hire federal workers for jobs they may or may not be qualified for ahead of regular Pennsylvanians who have experience in the private sector, especially in a time when we have a state budget deficit," he said. "It doesn't make sense to go out and try to hire a bunch of federal workers."
Republican State Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward of Westmoreland County reacted to Shapiro's executive order on social media by saying "Governor Shapiro should focus on finding efficiencies in PA government as opposed to fighting the federal government for the sake of fighting President Trump."
Republican State House Leader Jesse Topper said in a statement, "Finding ways to add to our bureaucracy here in Pennsylvania sends us in the wrong direction."
The governor said his order is focused on hiring jobs that already exist and are already funded through the state budget.