President nixes pay raises for federal workers

Name: WORLD
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President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled a pay raise for federal employees, saying the government can’t afford it. “We must maintain efforts to put our nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases,” the president wrote in a letter to congressional leaders.

Federal workers expected to get a 2.1 percent across-the-board raise in January, plus locality pay increases averaging 25.7 percent. The raises would have cost $25 billion dollars. Instead of giving automatic raises, Trump wants employees compensated based on their performance. Democrats and union leaders blasted the decision as an insult to federal workers. The edict will not affect pay for members of the military.

Leigh Jones

Leigh is features editor for WORLD. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate who spent six years as a newspaper reporter in Texas before joining WORLD News Group. Leigh also co-wrote Infinite Monster: Courage, Hope, and Resurrection in the Face of One of America's Largest Hurricanes. She resides with her husband and daughter in Houston, Texas.