WASHINGTON — For nearly a decade, former President Donald Trump rallied voters with calls to shrink the size of the federal government and “clean up the swamp.”
But one Republican currently running in a key House race is trying to distance himself from the proposed cuts and from President Trump’s plan to relocate 100,000 federal workers from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia and fire “rogue bureaucrats,” a policy that could cost the region’s economy billions of dollars.
Derrick Anderson He is a Republican candidate running for the House of Representatives from Virginia’s 7th congressional district. Approximately 60,000 federal employees About 15% of the population lives there; many more work as federal contractors..
“I will oppose any bill that could weaken our national security, raise the cost of living, or hurt VA-7 jobs, regardless of where it comes from,” Anderson said in a statement to CNBC.
“This is my hometown and I’m going to do everything in my power to protect it,” he said.
Virginia’s 7th Congressional District is one of the most competitive in the country, according to the Cook Political Report, but Anderson is not alone. He’s the latest example of how Republican congressional candidates in tough races are being careful about how they align with Trump and how independent they appear.
Republicans held the House this year but their narrow margins meant frequent scrambles, they were unable to move some of their key priorities and struggled to approve must-pass bills.
For Republicans to implement their policies in 2025, they will need to win some districts that supported Biden in 2020 and are likely to back Harris in November.
Anderson’s opponent is the Democratic candidate Eugene VindmanHe is the twin brother of Alex Vindman, who testified against Trump during his 2019 impeachment trial.
Vindman visited Stafford on Aug. 27, canvassing door-to-door in 90-degree heat, but only made it to a few homes and struck up conversations with self-described “gabbies,” or government officials, who had concerns about some of Trump’s proposals.
Anderson has been endorsed by Trump. But Vindman have more financial weapons As of June 30, Vindman’s campaign had raised $7.5 million, while Anderson’s campaign had raised just $1.4 million.
In addition to moving 100,000 employees out of the region, President Trump also wants to make it easier to fire career civil servants and replace them with politically loyal officials as part of an executive order. It is often called “Schedule F.” This measure alone could affect tens of thousands of federal employees, including those in Virginia’s O7 counties.
President Trump’s policy plan: Agenda Item 47Trump also plans to go after “bad bureaucrats” and “fire all corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence agencies.”
That’s a story that hits home for Vindman. He and his brother Both were fired. White House staff members were fired from their jobs after Alexander played a key role in the impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
“It would be a devastating blow to the region,” Vindman said. “It’s fundamentally unfair, but we’re talking about thousands, tens of thousands of people, so it would be a devastating blow to the region.” [of] A pretty high paying job. That would be awful.”
If the plan goes ahead, it won’t just be federal employees who will be affected, but contractors and other workers in the area, he said. Terry ClowerHe is a professor at George Mason University and director of Mason’s Center for Regional Analysis.
Clower estimates that for every job the federal government creates in the region, 0.6 additional jobs are created, meaning the loss of 100,000 federal employees would result in the loss of 160,000 jobs. Clower estimates that this level of projected job losses could cost the state $27 billion to $28 billion a year.
“In terms of output, if they all left Virginia, it would probably be about 5% of the state’s total product,” he said. “That would create a pretty severe recession by modern standards.”
