President Trump signed an executive order Thursday that increased the pay for most federal workers by 1.9 percent, one month after Congress approved the hike in federal spending legislation. Trump had previously opposed the higher pay and instead sought to freeze rates for federal workers.
“Finally. It’s simply inexcusable and yet another example of the Trump administration’s disregard for federal workers that this pay raise that we fought so hard for took so long to implement,” tweeted Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., whose Northern Virginia district includes many affected workers. Federal worker unions applauded the news.
The White House issued no statement on the signing, and a spokesman could not be reached for comment.
In an August letter to Congress, Trump said: “I have determined that for 2019, both across‑the‑board pay increases and locality pay increases will be set at zero.” Lawmakers rejected that and instead advanced a 1.9 percent increase. Congress included it in the legislation that formally ended the federal government shutdown. The raise is retroactive to the beginning of the year.
