John Reid, Virginia’s GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, released a plan on Thursday to address the need for high-quality positions for the thousands of federal workers in Virginia who lost their jobs under the federal government’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.
For Reid, it hits close to home.
His longtime partner Alonzo Mable worked as a Department of the Navy civilian in logistics for about 10 years before he received notice in February that his position was likely to be eliminated, Reid shared publicly for the first time Thursday. Mable took a buyout offer and is still looking for a job in the private sector.
“I’ve lived this transition myself, and I’m living it again with Alonzo. I know how tough it can be to move from public service into the private sector,” Reid said in a statement.
“This plan makes sure Virginia respects the men and women who’ve served while helping them step into what’s next: opportunity, independence, and private-sector success. That’s how we build strong families, strong communities, and a strong Virginia.”
The rollout of Reid’s plan comes the day before he and his Republican running mates are set to appear at a rally in Chesterfield alongside Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the original leaders of DOGE.
Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is the GOP nominee for governor, has repeatedly been criticized by Democrats for what they term her lack of empathy toward federal workers who lost jobs.
In a publicized recording from a March gathering, Earle-Sears said that “it’s not unusual” for someone to lose a job and she does not understand why “the media is making it out to be this huge, huge thing.”
Reid’s public remarks about DOGE firings have been different than Earle-Sears’, noting the hardship that thousands of fired workers are facing.
Reid’s “pathways for public servants plan” would aim to build structured career bridges between public service and private work by partnering with Virginia businesses, trade schools, and universities to connect displaced public employees with high-demand sectors like health care, cybersecurity, logistics and skilled trades.
The plan would also offer short-term tax incentives to Virginia businesses that hire and train former public employees.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin in February announced a new state website called “Virginia Has Jobs,” which he touted as a place where those who lost their jobs could browse open jobs in the state. It included several employers that were not hiring, including a Pennsylvania-based technology company that had no open jobs, Axios Richmond reported.