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Earle-Sears comments on federal layoffs spark outcry from unions, veterans
Earle-Sears comments on federal layoffs spark outcry from unions, veterans
In leaked audio, the GOP gubernatorial frontrunner downplays job losses tied to Trump-era cuts.
BY: MARKUS SCHMIDT - APRIL 4, 2025 5:30 AM
{snip picture}
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at a bill-signing event in Richmond on March 19, as Gov. Glenn Youngkin looks on from behind. At the event, both doubled down on the necessity of sweeping federal layoffs while attempting to reassure Virginians that the state’s economy is resilient. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide.
A newly surfaced recording of Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is drawing sharp criticism from Democrats and federal employee unions, who say her remarks downplaying the impact of recent federal layoffs show a disregard for the thousands of Virginians — many of them veterans — who have lost their jobs under President Donald Trump’s administration’s workforce cuts.
In the clip, released last week by the progressive media outlet Meidas Touch, Earle-Sears is heard downplaying concerns from federal workers about job losses tied to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has already axed more than 6,000 veterans and is on track to cut at least 80,000 VA employees nationwide, according to the Associated Press.
In the recording, which appears to be from a March 13 gathering, Earle-Sears addresses the recent federal layoffs tied to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). … “Now I’m hearing about DOGE and all of that,” she begins, before quickly shifting to a broader defense of Virginia’s job market. She insists that “we don’t want folks to lose their jobs,” but points to what she says are “over 250,000 jobs that we’ve created since we’ve been in office” as evidence of economic strength.
Earle-Sears then pivots to suggest that job loss is a common experience, asking the crowd, “How many here have ever lost a job?” When some respond affirmatively, she continues: “Oh, you mean it’s not unusual? It happens to everybody all the time? Okay.” She concludes by criticizing the media coverage surrounding the layoffs, saying, “The media is making it out to be this huge, huge thing. And I don’t understand why.”
{snip}
In leaked audio, the GOP gubernatorial frontrunner downplays job losses tied to Trump-era cuts.
BY: MARKUS SCHMIDT - APRIL 4, 2025 5:30 AM
{snip picture}
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at a bill-signing event in Richmond on March 19, as Gov. Glenn Youngkin looks on from behind. At the event, both doubled down on the necessity of sweeping federal layoffs while attempting to reassure Virginians that the state’s economy is resilient. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide.
A newly surfaced recording of Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is drawing sharp criticism from Democrats and federal employee unions, who say her remarks downplaying the impact of recent federal layoffs show a disregard for the thousands of Virginians — many of them veterans — who have lost their jobs under President Donald Trump’s administration’s workforce cuts.
In the clip, released last week by the progressive media outlet Meidas Touch, Earle-Sears is heard downplaying concerns from federal workers about job losses tied to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has already axed more than 6,000 veterans and is on track to cut at least 80,000 VA employees nationwide, according to the Associated Press.
In the recording, which appears to be from a March 13 gathering, Earle-Sears addresses the recent federal layoffs tied to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). … “Now I’m hearing about DOGE and all of that,” she begins, before quickly shifting to a broader defense of Virginia’s job market. She insists that “we don’t want folks to lose their jobs,” but points to what she says are “over 250,000 jobs that we’ve created since we’ve been in office” as evidence of economic strength.
Earle-Sears then pivots to suggest that job loss is a common experience, asking the crowd, “How many here have ever lost a job?” When some respond affirmatively, she continues: “Oh, you mean it’s not unusual? It happens to everybody all the time? Okay.” She concludes by criticizing the media coverage surrounding the layoffs, saying, “The media is making it out to be this huge, huge thing. And I don’t understand why.”
{snip}