Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, we explore how governors (and candidates for governor) around the country are navigating the recent federal layoffs. Plus, how a measles outbreak could prove politically perilous for President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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— Adam Wollner
How Trump and Musk’s job cuts are reverberating in the states
President Donald Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s initiative to dramatically slash the federal workforce is increasingly having a political ripple effect at the state level.
The job market: For starters, states are putting up “We’re hiring” signs for fired federal workers, as Adam Edelman reports.
Governors around the country are attempting to recruit these employees for public and private sector jobs in their states, while providing them with other resources as they exit their current positions and search for their next.
It’s primarily Democratic governors in blue states who are leading the charge. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul launched the “You’re Hired” initiative this week, specifically targeting federal workers for state government roles who have lost their jobs as a result of the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting efforts.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green recently signed an executive order instituting an expedited hiring process for qualified federal employees who are on their way out and seeking employment in state government positions.
One Republican, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, is getting in on the effort too by advertising 250,000 open private sector positions in the state. Virginia, home to approximately 340,000 federal workers, could be one of the states most affected by DOGE’s job cuts.
The campaign trail: That brings us to the race to replace Youngkin, one of two high-profile governor’s races this year.
Edelman and Bridget Bowman write that there are signs of how the disruption could shape Virginia’s political climate. They spoke with more than a dozen voters around the state who participated in past NBC News polls and said they were not strongly aligned with either party. All were aware of the ongoing federal layoffs, with some expressing deep concern about the effect on Virginia workers and those receiving federal benefits, though most were not yet tuned into the governor’s race.
Separately, one man named Matthew, who was not comfortable sharing his last name, told NBC News that he expects the recent layoffs of federal workers to factor into his 2025 vote for governor — as the self-described political independent attended his first Democratic Party event a week after losing his own federal government job. He was one of more than 300 Virginians who packed the Arlington library auditorium Tuesday night for a county party town hall on the recent federal layoffs.
Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the only Democrat in the race, has described the widespread layoffs as an attack on the state’s economy.
“This frankly isn’t about politics,” Spanberger said in a recent interview with NBC News, later adding, “It is a chaotic circumstance coming out of this White House and this administration, and it is deeply, deeply damaging to real people and real jobs and real families.”
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican front-runner, has praised the DOGE effort while also pointing to the Youngkin administration’s investments in the private sector of the Virginia economy as a reason that fired workers shouldn’t fret.
Another state-level effect: Meanwhile, Trump’s pledge to “move education back to the states” is causing concern among local officials and lawmakers, who say they are unprepared to take on the responsibilities of the Education Department if it’s dismantled. Read more from Edelman and Tyler Kingkade →
What to know from the Trump presidency today
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Trump said that 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico would go into effect Tuesday, alongside yet another 10% layer of duties on China following one that came into effect earlier this month.
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Trump also said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was “working hard” to convince him not to impose tariffs on the U.K. at a joint news conference.
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During an Oval Office meeting, Starmer corrected Trump’s claim that European countries who provided aid to Ukraine “get their money back.”
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Asked by a reporter if he stands by his earlier comments calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator,” Trump responded: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.”
With RFK Jr. at his side, a measles outbreak could prove ‘politically perilous’ for Trump
By Jonathan Allen, Julie Tsirkin and Laura Strickler
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been scarce at Health and Human Services headquarters and has not visited a number of agencies since he was sworn in to lead the department, according to one department official. Kennedy has not sent all-staff emails to the department’s workforce and has not done anything to address the measles outbreak, the official also noted.
“It’s almost like he’s still in campaign mode rather than realizing he’s head of a large agency and workforce,” the HHS official said.
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine critic, said at President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting Wednesday that his department is tracking an outbreak of measles that has infected more than 100 people and killed an unvaccinated school-age child. But he played down the consequence of the resurgence — 25 years after measles had been thought to be eradicated from the U.S.
Trump’s decision to tap Kennedy to lead HHS reflected the president’s own tortured relationship with Covid-19, mass immunization and a political base that has become increasingly critical of vaccines following the health and economic damage wrought by the pandemic.
It also poses a risk to Republican lawmakers in the midterm elections if measles, bird flu, ebola or another disease rips through the country following Kennedy’s appointment and the Department of Government Efficiency’s cutbacks in foreign and domestic efforts to combat those viruses, according to some GOP strategists.
“If you’re cutting a program, that increases the potential for something to go wrong — you’re going to own it,” said one GOP strategist who has worked on presidential, Senate and House campaigns. “Maybe the measles thing is the canary in the coal mine. … This is a small example of a potential problem. This has real-life consequences, and that’s the part that is politically perilous.”
More health news: A Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for March to select the strains to be included in next season’s flu shot has been canceled.
🗞️ Today’s other top stories
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🌎 ‘A fundamental shift’: Western officials say Trump’s moves to embrace Russia and castigate Ukraine have rattled U.S. allies around the world – and could ultimately benefit China. Read more →
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🚫 Not welcome: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that Andrew and Tristan Tate, the influencer brothers who face charges in Romania of human trafficking and sexual intercourse with a minor, were not welcome in the state. Read more →
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✅ The ayes have it: Three Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted with Republicans to advance Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination to be labor secretary. Rand Paul was the lone GOP senator to oppose her. Read more →
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🔵 In the spotlight: Freshman Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., will deliver her party’s response to Trump’s joint address to Congress next Tuesday. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Faith Wardwell.
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
