Over 200 people packed a standing-room-only town hall yesterday (Tuesday) to discuss how federal workforce cuts are personally impacting Arlington residents.
The event for federal employees and contractors came as Arlington County is considering an $11.5 million increase to its budget stabilization reserve in response to ongoing federal shake-ups.
While county officials grapple with funding uncertainty coupled with an already tight budget, some Arlington residents are facing sudden unemployment. Others worry they may lose their jobs at any moment as President Donald Trump continues to make good on promises to slash the federal workforce.
“Very clearly, they are destroying things that they don’t like,” a former USAID worker who lost her job on Feb. 14 told ARLnow, referring to the new administration and its Department of Government Efficiency. “There has been a lot of fear and hurt and betrayal. I think a lot of people feel very, very betrayed.”
Another USAID worker said she is still holding onto her job despite being a probationary employee. She checks her email frequently to find out if she has been laid off.
“Our leadership has been crying at meetings, apologizing to us, like, ‘I’m so sorry that you’ve dedicated your lives to helping people, and we’re letting you down,'” she said.
County staff prepare for impacts
While federal cuts and instability haven’t yet cost Arlington County any tax revenue, county staff are preparing for potentially major effects.
“In some ways, [the current situation] has taken the worst elements of a lot of the things that have happened in the past, and sort of put them all together,” County Manager Mark Schwartz told reporters this week.
In some ways, he compared the uncertainty to early days of the pandemic, when staff had to significantly revise the county’s budget in response to rapidly changing events.
During the pandemic, however, the county leaned on federal support to keep its head above the water. These days, economic concerns are coming from the federal government itself — a situation Schwartz compared to the Base Realignment and Closure process.
The proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget would increase funding for the county’s stabilization reserve from $21.5 million to $33 million. This would act as a buffer if, for instance, Arlington Public Schools loses some or all of its federal funding or reductions in federal jobs bring losses in commercial tax revenue.
With uncertain times ahead, the county is considering a possible real estate tax increase and a higher meals tax, in addition to potentially eliminating 44 positions and increasing fees for some services.
Still, Schwartz said circumstances could be worse. He noted, for instance, that Trump’s return-to-office order could balance out some economic impacts in Arlington.
He said he is watching headlines closely and is prepared to adjust the budget as needed.
“I don’t mean to make it sound like, therefore, it’s the worst thing that could ever have happened — it’s not,” Schwartz said. “It’s just a lot more variables for us to try and figure out, so we have to pay that much more attention.”
‘We are at the beginning of a movement’
Last night’s town hall was packed to the gills.
Crowds of federal workers and contractors spilled out of the auditorium at Central Library, peppering a panel of four experts with questions about what recent changes mean and how they should respond.
Some asked about the possibility of a class-action lawsuit. Others asked about rallies and protests. A pregnant mother asked about the future of herself and her unborn child.
“I’m stressed out,” the woman said. “I’m due in 10 weeks. I still have my job now, but I need to know — what do I do to hold my company accountable and to hold the government accountable, to make sure that when my child is born, I don’t have to worry about not being able to provide for her?”
Panelists at the event, hosted by the Arlington County Democratic Committee, discussed legal recourse, ways to ramp up political pressure, and advice for people who might soon lose their jobs. But they also noted the limits of available options, especially for immediate relief.
Alissa Tafti, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2211, told ARLnow that many federal employees aren’t used to publicly advocating for themselves. She hopes to change that and encourage workers to speak up despite fears of retaliation.
“We’re at the beginning of a movement,” she said. “Movements aren’t born organized and they aren’t born huge. It takes all of these actions that are small to build up and to escalate — and for us to teach people the skills to organize, and also teach people the skills to use their voices and protest, and show up, and speak out.”
Tafti, who is a federal worker, said she relates to people’s concerns but believes the risk is worth it.
“I am more afraid of what happens if we don’t take these risks,” she said. “I anticipate I will be targeted. I anticipate that they will try and come for my job, and I am scared of that … but the consequences of us not doing this are too great.”
In coming weeks, Arlington Democrats Chair Steve Baker said that he intends to continue efforts to organize.
Plans for at least one more federal worker town hall are in the works. Arlington Democrats are also considering a possible immigration forum and a rally — in addition to passing out yard signs that say “we support our federal workers.”
The group has handed out about 400 of the signs since they arrived this weekend.
“People are frustrated, people are angry, people are hurt, and they want to be seen,” Baker said. “They love this country. They love our community. They like their job — and I thought [the town hall] was fantastic.”
Local impacts of workforce cuts
Experts have warned of the likely impacts that federal workforce cuts will have on Arlington and the rest of the D.C. area. However, locality-specific data is still limited right now.
The Virginia Employment Commission reports unemployment rates for each of Virginia’s 133 counties and cities with a lag of about two months. January’s unemployment figures are slated to be released March 13, and February’s — which could start to show some of the impact of federal-government job cuts — will arrive in early April.
In the most current data, Arlington closed out 2024 with a December jobless rate of 2%, representing 157,223 in the civilian workforce and 3,128 looking for jobs, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.
Over the course of 2024, the county’s jobless rate ranged from 1.8% to 2.7%, and typically was among the very lowest in the commonwealth.
Arlington’s federal workers are most densely clustered in the 22201 and 22209 zip codes, which contain Rosslyn, Clarendon, Courthouse, Virginia Square and part of Ballston, new maps from the Northern Virginia Regional Commission show.
Arlington is not alone in its concerns about the impact of Trump-administration efforts. Its bigger neighbor to the immediate west also has concerns.
The current situation in D.C. represents “a much higher risk to Fairfax County than Covid ever did,” said Jeff McKay (D), who chairs that county’s Board of Supervisors.
“Every day, we’re seeing a worse impact … than we’re seeing the day before,” McKay said on Feb. 18, when Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill unveiled his fiscal 2026 budget proposal. “Thousands of people have lost their jobs. Northern Virginia’s economy is under attack.”
