News

Actions

President Trump cancels pay raises for federal employees

Posted at 2:27 PM, Aug 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-30 14:27:32-04

President Donald Trump told lawmakers on Thursday he was scrapping a planned pay raise for federal workers, saying the nation’s budget couldn’t support it.

In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Trump said the pay increase would amount to $25 billion, which he described as “inappropriate.”

“We must maintain efforts to put our Nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and Federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases,” the President wrote.

He stressed the change wouldn’t affect the federal government’s ability to attract qualified workers, and wrote the government would focus on “recruiting, retaining and rewarding high-performing Federal employees and those with critical skill sets.”