Graphic Courtesy/W.Va. Department of Economic Development

CHARLESTON — The effects of a number of executive orders issued over the last two weeks by President Donald Trump aimed squarely at federal employees are being felt in West Virginia, which provides a number of support services for federal departments and agencies.

Since taking office for a second and final term on Jan. 20, Trump has issued several executive orders as he remakes the federal government to follow his public policy priorities.

Trump issued a hiring freeze for all unfilled federal civilian positions in the executive branch, with orders for the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk to submit plans by April 20 to reduce the size of the executive branch.

That same day, Trump ordered all executive branch departments and agencies to terminate all remote work arrangements and require all employees to return to in-person office work (RTO).

Several federal employees either based in West Virginia or who work in the DC-MD-VA-WV metropolitan area agreed to be interviewed as long as they were allowed to remain anonymous due to concerns about being fired or retaliated against.

One federal employee based in the southern part of the state said the return-to-work policy was causing issues at their workplace where space is limited.

“Offices don’t have room for people and it’s going to cost money to reconfigure the spaces to be able to fit everyone,” the employee said. “There are folks who work remote who we have no place for and no idea how to incorporate them into the building.”

Another federal employee who teleworks for a D.C. federal agency said their telework policy predated the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing some employees to work remotely most of the week, which their agency found increased morale and productivity. The employee’s union negotiated a collective bargaining agreement to allow for expanded telework through the Summer of 2026.

“We’ve had some sort of telework for more than a decade, longer than my entire tenure here, and the experience has been extremely positive for all,” the employee said. “Trump/Elon’s new OPM staff released a memo this week effectively telling agencies they don’t have to abide by CBA provisions regarding telework, so we are sort of just waiting to be told any day now to begin reporting back five days a week while we wait for the union to fight for us in court.

“Every single person I know in my agency is against this,” the employee continued. “Management is also extremely pro-telework, and even our agency heads who fought for RTO did not want it to go this far. Morale will plummet, and there will be no more work-life balance; an area my agency always scored well with in the past on surveys.”

As part of these orders, the White House issued a memo last week allowing federal workers to take a buy-out. If the workers resign by email by the end of the day today, they would still be paid through Sept. 30. According to Axios, approximately 20,000 federal workers agreed to take the buy-out, or nearly 1% of the federal workforce. However, unions representing federal employees have urged their members to not take the buy-outs.

“I’m currently being overrun with (Office of Personnel and Management) emails that are trying to offer the ‘deferred resignation’ package,” said one federal employee. “The low levels (me!) are finding stuff out at the same time as our higher-ups. It’s absolutely chaotic.

“I think the powers-that-be want federal workers to quit/retire/resign and then not backfill the positions (which is going to lead to the government looking inefficient, and then under that guise more cuts can be made),” they continued.

“Feds are being spammed every day in our work email encouraging us to take this ‘buyout,'” said the DC-based federal employee. “One of the emails actually told us to leave our ‘low productivity public jobs’ for a high productivity job in the private sector. Rumors too about mass layoffs if not enough people take the buyout. Everyone is pretty worried. Nobody really knows what’s going on.”

According to a report released in December by the Congressional Research Service, West Virginia is home to 17,338 federal workers as of March 2024, excluding U.S. Postal Service employees and employees of the legislative and judicial branches. That number also doesn’t include federal employees who live in West Virginia but work in the Washington, D.C./Virginia/Maryland metropolitan area.

According to 2023 U.S. Census Bureau estimates for federal civilian employment by congressional district, there were approximately 33,322 federal employees who reside in West Virginia, making up more than 8% of West Virginia’s total workforce.

The Mountain State is home to several major federal anchor institutions, ranging from the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services offices in Clarksburg which manages the nation’s system of criminal background checks, to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service in Parkersburg which tracks the public debt.

The I-79 Technology Park near Fairmont is home to several federal agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Morgantown is home to the U.S Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Trump and Musk’s DOGE is already reviewing several federal agencies to either shrink or shut them down altogether, such as USAID, the Department of Education, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In an earlier executive order, federal employees involved with Diversity, Equity and inclusion (DEI) programs were placed on paid leave. FBI and U.S. Department of Justice employees involved with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol Building by Trump supporters who believed the 2020 election was stolen were also being eyed for termination, though those plans appeared to be on hold Wednesday.

“We just watched Trump and Elon dismantle USAID and it looks like Dept of Ed is next,” said the DC-based federal worker. “It’s just very demoralizing and stressful when every day it’s more fear and intimidation tactics trying to get you to quit. Right now, they don’t seem interested in my agency, but that can change quickly.

“At the end of the day, all of this is just going to make my job harder and it’s going to affect the agency’s ability to successfully complete its mission,” they continued. “We’ve been underfunded and understaffed for years, and if we start losing more people to all of this and can’t replace them, that’s even more for those of us remaining to take on. It’s not sustainable. I’m very worried about what the future of federal service will look like if this continues.”