In a bold recruitment initiative, New York state is actively targeting federal employees who have recently lost their jobs in Washington, D.C., due to the Trump administration’s workforce reduction efforts. The campaign, launched on March 3, features prominent digital advertising at Union Station, depicting the Statue of Liberty mimicking Uncle Sam’s famous recruiting pose alongside the message “DOGE said you’re fired? We say you’re hired! New York wants you!”
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by entrepreneur Elon Musk under President Trump’s direction, has been instrumental in implementing significant federal workforce reductions. These cuts have included the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development and steps toward shuttering the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with discussions ongoing about potentially eliminating the Department of Education.
The administration’s restructuring has led to approximately 75,000 federal workers accepting “deferred resignations” with paid leave benefits. Additionally, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management has mandated agencies to evaluate and potentially terminate probationary employees not considered essential or high-performing, affecting a potential pool of 220,000 workers with less than one year of service.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration sees this as an opportunity to address New York’s own staffing challenges. The state currently maintains a workforce of roughly 180,000 but faces over 7,000 vacancies. High-priority positions include openings for attorneys, engineers, nurses, and IT specialists.
“While the federal government might be saying ‘you’re fired,’ here in New York, we’re saying ‘you’re hired,'” Governor Hochul emphasized in a recent video message promoting the initiative.
The White House has responded critically to New York’s recruitment efforts. Spokesperson Harrison Fields characterized it as an attempt to expand government bureaucracy, stating, “Leave it to the failed New York state bureaucracy to stack their payrolls with more bureaucrats at the expense of the abused taxpayers of New York.”
New York isn’t alone in reaching out to displaced federal workers. Neighboring states Maryland and Virginia have launched similar initiatives. Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore announced plans to expedite hiring processes for former federal employees, building upon a recently launched online job portal. Virginia, under Governor Glenn Youngkin’s leadership, has created a comprehensive job website connecting candidates with 250,000 available positions across various sectors, including major employers like LEGO, Micron, Amazon, and Capital One.
Virginia is also providing unemployment support through its Employment Commission, offering benefits up to $387 weekly. Despite being a Republican, Governor Youngkin has taken a nuanced stance on the federal workforce reductions. While expressing empathy for affected workers, he acknowledged the need for government reform, stating, “We have a federal government that is inefficient, and we have an administration that is taking on that challenge of rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse and driving efficiency in our federal government. It needs to happen.”
The situation highlights a larger shift in government employment dynamics, with states actively competing to acquire experienced federal workers while the national government pursues significant downsizing initiatives. This transformation represents one of the most substantial changes to the federal workforce in recent history, with ripple effects extending well beyond Washington’s boundaries into state-level governance and employment markets.