The results of the November 5 election promise dramatic and long-lasting changes to the employment picture in the entire Washington DC area. “The federal government is D.C.’s largest office occupier and employer, and it draws ancillary demand from sectors that do business with it, meaning changes to federal agencies’ workforces and footprints could have major implications for the city’s office market and economy”.*

Some of these changes will offer opportunities. For example, as is always the case with a change in Administrations, people who have connections to or affiliations with the “new team” will find their employment and advancement prospects brighten. But many of the changes ushered in by the Trump presidency are likely to have a dramatically negative impact on vast segments of the region’s work force and on its economic fortunes.

As reported on November 7 in the Washington Post:

“Trump, in his formal campaign platform, called to redistribute workers out of the Washington area and implement large-scale cuts to the federal government, which he has long derided as harboring members of the “deep state.” Before leaving office in 2020, he issued an executive order that made tens of thousands of employees subject to firing with little due process if they were found to have resisted the administration’s policies — a move unwound by the Biden administration that Trump’s allies have vowed to restore. His calls for cuts have been amplified by surrogates such as billionaire Elon Musk, who insists such moves are necessary to cut down on waste and inefficiency”.

Musk, has proposed cuts of two trillion dollars to the federal budget, which would necessarily entail massive layoffs in a wide range of government agencies (when he acquired Twitter he laid off thousands). As unlikely as a reaction of that magnitude is, it is virtually certain that there will be significant reductions in the federal workforce.

Furthermore, it’s important to keep in mind that the premium Trump places on loyalty may result in at least some form of “punishment” to the geography that voted heavily against him: Northern Virginia, the District, and suburban Maryland.

If you’re employed by the government, or if your job is connected to revenue generated by it, you would be wise to begin exploring alternative employment scenarios. The changes I outline above will take quite a bit of time to manifest themselves, time you should use to develop a backup strategy and plans.

*As written on November 6 in Bison