The panel, moderated by University of Mary Washington political science professor Dr. Stephen Farnsworth, focused on the sweeping changes being proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal initiative aiming to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending.
Federal cuts coming
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Commuter traffic in the Washington, D.C. metro area is set to surge as President Donald Trump issues an executive order ending remote work for federal employees.
The Center Square reports that Trump’s directive mandates federal workers return to their offices full-time, with limited exemptions determined by department heads. The move is welcomed by regional leaders like Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who have long urged a return to in-person work to bolster public transit ridership and address underused federal buildings.
President-Elect Donald Trump and Vice President-Elect JD Vance criticized the proposed plan in a statement released on Dec. 18 on X (formerly Twitter), where they said the deal had provisions that would hide records of the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, and that the bill would give Congress a pay increase while Americans are “struggling this Christmas.”
The 1,547-page continuing resolution was scrapped on December 18, hours before lawmakers approved the measure. The bill aimed to prevent a partial government shutdown and included a variety of allocations ranging from disaster relief to football stadium land:
- Disaster Relief: Over $100 billion was designated for disaster recovery efforts to assist states and local communities affected by recent natural disasters.
- Farmers’ Economic Aid: $10 billion was allocated to support farmers facing low commodity prices and high input costs, ensuring continued access to credit and financial assistance.
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): $29 billion was earmarked for FEMA’s disaster relief fund to enhance response capabilities for future emergencies.
- Agricultural Support: $21 billion was intended for farmers to bolster the agricultural sector amid economic challenges.
- Infrastructure Repairs: $8 billion was set aside for highway and bridge repairs to address critical infrastructure needs across the country.
- Community Development Block Grants: $12 billion was allocated for community recovery block grants to support local development projects in disaster-affected areas.
- Health Care Provisions: The bill included measures to extend funding for various health care programs, ensuring continued access to essential services.
- Technological Competition: Provisions were included to counter foreign technological advancements, particularly focusing on China’s growing influence in the tech sector.
- Sports Infrastructure: Plans were made to transfer land to facilitate the construction of a new stadium for the Washington Commanders, aiming to boost local economic development.
- Government Operations Funding: The bill sought to extend federal funding through March 14, 2025, to maintain government operations and avert a shutdown.
Warner said the effects of a government shutdown would be felt in Virginia on an unprecedented level. He described the possibility of a shutdown as a “cruel, heartless, stupid maneuver a few days before Christmas.” Warner said the impacts of a shutdown would be felt widely, from delays in package deliveries to long lines, delays and disruptions in air travel. He also noted the impacts on Virginia tourism, which brought in over $90 million per day in the state’s restaurants, shops, attractions, and hotels in 2023. Visitors spent over $33 billion in Virginia in 2023.
Unlike federal employees, Warner said that small business owners whose shops, attractions, and restaurants revolve around the area’s parks and travel destinations will feel the impact the most. They will not be refunded from losses that closed parks and tourist destinations sustained. Any time and earnings lost from a shutdown cannot be recouped when the government shutdown ends.
Warner said he was with many of his Republican colleagues when the scrapping of the deal was announced and said many of them were aghast. The deal wasn’t perfect, but the majority of senators were ready to compromise and pass it to move forward, he added. Warner attributed the joint statement from Trump and Vance and Elon Musk’s posts on the social media platform “X” to the fall of the bill.
“I had a career in business before I was in politics, and I’ve done a lot of deals. Trump says he’s a dealmaker – you don’t do a deal and renege, which happened at the 11th and ½ hour,” said Warner. He said the deal essentially started unraveling when “the richest man in the world started tweeting out just plain untruths about what’s in the deal. I should remind you, Elon Musk has more followers online than Donald Trump.”
Government shutdowns impact Virginia far more than any other state, Warner added. Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) noted in a November 2023 report that, according to the Virginia Employment Commission, over 14,000 federal workers in Virginia were directly affected by the 2018-2019 shutdown. The study also noted that in the 2013 shutdown, approximately 55,275 employees were affected since one-third of Federal Civilian employees in Virginia were considered non-exempt.
Small businesses and restaurants would be particularly vulnerable in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, where most of the state’s federal employees live. Some of these businesses may reduce hiring employees, cut the hours of existing employees, or close permanently.
These last-minute threats of government shut-downs with resolution at the last minute are not uncommon. In the last 15 years, the question of government shutdowns over funding has threatened shutdowns at least 8 times.
During Trump’s first term, a shutdown lasted 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019. In the last 50 years, there have been 21 federal shutdowns. Threats of a possible government shutdown have made the headlines of major newspapers every year for the previous 10 years.
“This is why Virginians and Americans lose faith in their governing institutions when people act so irresponsibly and have so little value that when you actually shake hands on a deal that you’re going to honor that” Warner said. “In this framework of our government, you can’t choose who you do business with.”
Warner has represented Virginia in the U.S. Senate since 2009. Before his Senate career, he served as the 69th Governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006, focusing on education reform. Warner is also an entrepreneur and former technology executive, co-founding the company that became Nextel Communications.
DOGE, a proposed federal agency designed to streamline government operations under incoming President-Elect Donald Trump, aims to enhance transparency and reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies. Specific focus areas include modernizing outdated IT systems, consolidating overlapping agency functions, and introducing advanced data analytics to improve decision-making processes.
Its primary focus is on evaluating and modernizing processes across federal departments to improve service delivery, optimize resource allocation, and eliminate redundancy. Specific targets include outdated systems and overlapping roles within federal agencies.
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Stafford County Supervisor Crystal Vanuch, recognizing the crucial role of the Fredericksburg Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) in transportation planning, recently reached out seeking data on the teleworking trends among Federal Government employees.
This inquiry, driven by the concern that a significant portion of Virginia Railway Express (VRE) riders are federal employees, underscores the potential impact of a recall to in-person office work on peak-hour traffic congestion along Interstate 95.
