Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) launched a “You’re hired” initiative to attract former federal workers fired by the Department of Government Efficiency.
Hochul has begun publicly positioning herself as a major Democratic opponent of President Donald Trump, clashing with him last week over his intervention to kill New York City’s controversial congestion pricing plan. She trolled the president again on Tuesday, flipping Trump’s famous catchphrase to attract workers laid off by Elon Musk’s DOGE.
“The federal government might say, ‘You’re fired,’ but here in New York, we say, ‘You’re hired.’ In fact, we love federal workers,” Hochul said in a video statement on X. “Whatever your skills, we value public service. Check out potential jobs at ny.gov/wewantyou. Come join our New York State family.”
New York State Department of Civil Service Commissioner and Civil Service Commission President Timothy R. Hogues elaborated on Hochul’s call, saying the state is seeking the “best and brightest” to take up the “noble calling” of public service.
“Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, we have been working hard to retain and recruit the next generation of employees and servant-leaders. By coming to work for the Empire State, you’ll have the opportunity to help your neighbors, community and state in a variety of ways — serving, protecting, and caring for your fellow New Yorkers and our wonderful resources in solid, stable jobs,” he said in a statement obtained by ABC 7 News.
Hochul isn’t the only one who has sought to tap into the skills of newly laid-off federal workers. Trump ally Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) expressed sympathy for the over 10,000 federal workers laid off by DOGE, urging them to take advantage of the Virginia job market.
“Today, Virginia stands as the top state for business, with tremendous job opportunities across the Commonwealth. ‘Virginia Has Jobs’ is an opportunity for every Virginian — and every business — to capitalize on the thriving economy, with more than 250,000 open jobs waiting to be filled,” Youngkin said.
The governor added that Virginia was there to help and support the recently unemployed workers.
“I want to reiterate that if you are in our federal workforce. We care about you. We want to support you. We want to make sure that if you experience any job interruption or changes, that you know where to go to get support infrastructure to find that next great opportunity with one of these fabulous employers,” Youngkin said.
Youngkin’s offer would be easier for many, as 145,000, 6.3% of all federal workers, reside in Virginia.
Led by Musk, DOGE has aimed to slash government spending by cutting programs and shrinking the federal workforce. The effort has come under fierce criticism from elected Democrats, highlighting individual cases of workers laid off by the department.
Hochul’s trolling of Trump regarding the laid-off federal workers is her latest move in a public campaign against the native New Yorker. The usually reserved governor adopted a stark change in tone on Wednesday in response to the Department of Transportation’s intervention regarding congestion pricing.
“I’m here to say: New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years,” she said to cheers. “We sure as hell are not going to start now.”
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Going beyond congestion pricing, Hochul said the problem was secondary and that Trump’s move represented “an attack on our sovereign identity, our independence from Washington.”
“We are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington,” she said. “So this is the fight we’re in. We’re fighting for our residents, our commuters, our riders, our drivers, our emergency personnel.”