Maryland lawmakers largely criticized or warned against their constituents accepting President Donald Trump’s offer to buy-out their positions or risk being part of the administration’s plans to slash the bureaucracy.
Last week, the administration offered “deferred resignation” until September with full pay and benefits, while the Washington Post reported Tuesday that layoffs will be “likely” if not enough bureaucrats take the offer.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a freshman Democrat representing the Old Line State — which has the largest number of federal workers per capita — told the Baltimore Sun she is advising Marylanders against accepting the buyout deal.
In a statement to AFRO News, Alsobrooks described the Trump administration’s targeting of federal workers as a “witch hunt.”
“This buyout won’t just impact hardworking federal employees, it will hurt tens of millions of Americans who rely on Social Security,” said Alsobrooks, who was previously the head of government in Prince Georges County — abutting Washington, D.C. and home to much of the affected workforce.
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Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Md. — who represents a line of bedroom communities including Columbia, Elkridge and Glen Burnie — said her constituents have been coming to her expressing worry about the situation.
Elfreth told Fox News Digital the buyout appears legally ambiguous and could have “dangerous implications… especially since Congress has not yet appropriated the funding necessary to carry out the president’s unsanctioned offer.”
“Pushing out career federal employees will only cripple agencies and undermine essential government services — it does nothing to make government more efficient,” she said.
Elfreth — who notably took over the newly un-gerrymandered Third District a judge described as a “broken-winged pterodactyl” — said she will meet with civil service groups and the government employees’ union (AFGE) in coming days.
She also urged concerned federal employees to consult AFGE’s “FAQ” report on the matter.
Meanwhile, Alsobrooks’ counterpart, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, urged federal workers to proceed cautiously, in remarks to the Sun.
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Van Hollen, D-Md., said affected Marylanders have to quickly make a decision but also understand questions about whether the Trump administration has the authority to do so, or “whether they have any real plans to make good on this bargain.”
Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore could not immediately be reached, and was hosting a major update on the FSK Bridge reconstruction Tuesday afternoon.
But, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown slammed the buyouts in a statement, saying the terms of the “vague, so-called ‘deferred resignation’ puts federal employees in an ambiguous position and risks straining essential government resources that people across the state and country rely on to live full, healthy lives.”
He called the situation the “latest attack on the government’s ability to provide vital support for Americans.”
“Federal employees are hardworking and dedicated civil servants who provide critical services to the people of the United States and Maryland,” Brown said.
Fox News Digital also reached out to Maryland Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin and Glenn Ivey for their takes, as well.
Ivey represents Prince Georges County in what is the most heavily-Democratic seat in the Maryland delegation, while Raskin — a frequent Trump foil — represents Takoma Park, Silver Spring and many of Washington, D.C.’s immediate northern suburbs.
Both areas have a high concentration of federal workers. Raskin’s district is notably the one D.C. collar district to most recently host a Republican lawmaker, Rep. Connie Morella, until 2002.
Ivey could not be reached while at a retreat, while Raskin’s office did not respond.
On the other side of the Potomac, House Oversight Committee ranking member Gerald Connolly, D-Va., demanded documents relating to Trump’s “deferred resignation” offer.
Connolly, who, along with Rep. Donald Beyer, D-Va., represents the lion’s share of Virginia’s federal employees in Fairfax and Arlington respectively, said the buyout would “precipitate a mass exodus of the most experienced and capable federal employees, leaving our agencies severely understaffed and incapable of fulfilling their responsibilities.”
Connolly warned of a “brain drain” to be felt by every American if the plan proceeds.
Beyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Requests for comment to Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, D-Catonsville, and Senate President Bill Ferguson IV, D-Baltimore, also went unanswered.
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