Where the federal government sees waste, states see opportunity — both to serve as a counterweight to the Trump administration and to recruit some much-needed talent.
In the weeks since the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, began eliminating jobs, state and local governments have been actively recruiting federal workers impacted by the Trump administration’s effort to dramatically reduce the federal work force.
Hawaii is fast-tracking job applications. Virginia started a website advertising its job market. Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania signed an executive order aimed at attracting federal employees to the state’s 5,600 “critical vacancies” in the state government. Both New Mexico and Maryland announced expanded resources and agencies to help federal workers shift into new careers in the state, and Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York is encouraging people to “come work in the greatest state in the nation.”
There has been interest. The New York governor’s office said roughly 150 people have signed up to attend information sessions hosted by the state’s Department of Labor.
But it’s too soon to say how many federal employees are applying for state-level roles and how exactly demographics could shift as a result, according to William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.
There were about 2.3 million civilians employed by the federal government’s executive branch when President Trump was sworn into office on Jan. 20. Thousands of government jobs have been cut as part of DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts across a range of agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.
Some of those fired employees have since been rehired, and courts have temporarily stopped some of the administration’s efforts. Many federal employees, including those who have highly specific government skills, are suspended in the unknown and looking for new roles pre-emptively.
State governments have begun competing to attract those federal employees to unfilled state roles. The effort also has political overtones, with states run by Democrats leading the charge.
“If the Trump administration turned you away, Minnesota wants you,” Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota said.
Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate during last year’s election, announced efforts to help federal employees find jobs in Minnesota on March 6, the day after the Trump administration said it planned to cut over 80,000 employees from Veteran Affairs.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York launched an ad campaign targeted at federal employees last week. “We won’t denigrate you. We will treat you with dignity and respect that you deserve because, in New York, we know it’s not the demagogues and the technocrats who make America great, it’s public servants,” she said in a statement.
On Feb. 18, Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii signed an executive order designed to attract federal workers and fast-track the state’s hiring process.
“We’ve already had 1,239 applications for technology jobs, investigator positions and corrections officers, to name a few categories,” Mr. Green said in an email. “We’ve needed a lot of these positions to be filled.”
Maryland, which has the second-highest concentration of federal employees outside of Washington, set up a variety of initiatives for former federal workers, including a way to help those interested in starting a second career with Maryland’s public schools. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, in announcing the state’s efforts, called the federal government cuts an “illegal purge.”
“This is not about efficiency. This is about rigging the government for the already rich and powerful, like Elon Musk,” he said in a statement.
While states are using this as an opportunity to oppose Mr. Trump, workers are unlikely to follow that lead, Dr. Frey said.
“People move because of jobs,” he said. “They don’t move for politics.”
As more states and cities are introducing initiatives to support former federal workers, many public servants are hoping to be able to stay put.
Colin Murphy, a former product manager at 18F, a previous unit at the General Services Administration, was thrilled to see his city of Cleveland, Ohio, announce a Rapid Response Hub for federal employees.
“I would love to see my experience and my knowledge I’ve gathered at the federal level be transferred to any state that is willing to take me,” Mr. Murphy said, adding, “Ultimately, I got in this role to serve the people, and I would do anything to serve the people that I live with.”
Not every state is courting federal workers because of politics. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Republican of Virginia, debuted a new initiative and website last month titled, “Virginia Has Jobs.” Choosing his words carefully, he expressed support for the efforts of DOGE, calling the federal government inefficient and saying change “needs to happen.”
“We have a lot of federal workers in the commonwealth,” he continued, “And I want to make sure they know we care about them and we value them and we want them to find that next chapter should they experience job dislocation here in Virginia.”