President Donald Trump said the U.S. will be "flooded with jobs" as foreign trading partners move industries to American soil to avoid tariffs. 

"They can build a factory here, a plant or whatever it may be, here," Trump said Thursday afternoon from the Oval Office. "And that includes the medical, that includes cars, that includes chips and semiconductors. That includes everything. If you build here, you have no tariffs whatsoever. And I think that's what's going to happen. I think our country is going to be flooded with jobs."

Trump said U.S. consumers could see prices rise in the "short term" due to the tariffs, but that prices will lower and that industries across the board would benefit. 

"And I think the farmers are going to be helped by this very much because product is being dumped into our country and our farmers are getting hurt very badly by the last administration," Trump said. "The last administration hated our farmers, like, at a level that I've never seen before. I think our farmers are going to be helped. Jobs are going to be helped. But our farmers are going to be helped, our manufacturers are going to be helped." 

TRUMP SIGNS 'RECIPROCAL' TARIFF PLAN FOR COUNTRIES THAT TAX US GOODS

"And again, if somebody wants to come in, including the car companies, if they want to come in and build car plants, they'll do it without tariffs. And therefore, prices won't go up. There could be some short-term disturbance, but long term, it's going to it's going to make our country a fortune," he added. 

FENTANYL'S FINANCIAL GRIP ON US SKYROCKETED TO $2.7T AT HEIGHT OF BIDEN ADMIN: STUDY

Trump announced on Thursday that he will impose "fair and reciprocal" tariffs on all major U.S. trading partners. 

The plan includes tapping Howard Lutnick, Trump's nominee for commerce secretary, to produce a report on reciprocal trade relations within 180 days. Lutnik said Thursday that he will have the report ready for Trump by April 1. 

"On trade I have decided for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff – meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them no more, no less. In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff. Very simple," Trump said at the White House of the tariff plan. 

Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement follows him leveraging tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China earlier in February. The tariffs were created in light of "extraordinary" threats stemming from "illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl," according to Trump's executive order authorizing the tariffs. 

Trump's order authorized tariffs through the new International Emergency Economic Powers Act. It included 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada would have a lower 10% tariff.

TRUMP IMPOSES TARIFFS ON IMPORTS FROM CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA: 'NATIONAL EMERGENCY'

Both Canada and Mexico agreed to concessions with Trump the day before the tariffs were set to take effect, pledging to send additional security personnel to their respective borders with the U.S. Trump agreed to pause the tariffs on the two nations for one month in light of the border security concessions. 

China, on the other hand, imposed tariffs on some U.S. imports in response to Trump's tariffs. 

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report. 

Generation Z has now come up with another new term you’ll be hearing more about, it’s called "micro-retirement." The concept of "micro-retirement" is to take time from work while you are still young, rather than deferring all your future leisure plans to the later years of life.  

Some people just call this being unemployed for a while. Others call it taking a sabbatical from work. This new trend is sweeping through Generation Z and are they on to something smart or is this going to create an even more cratering financial effect on their financial future? 

OK. I must make a confession. At 55 years old, it’s hard to get my head wrapped around needing a big ‘break from work’ in your 20s. 

TRUMP'S ULTIMATUM TO FEDERAL WORKERS: RETURN TO OFFICE 'OR BE TERMINATED'

Brittney Foley, 26, is a woman who is opting for a micro-retirement. She explained that taking smaller career breaks earlier in your life is perfect when you don’t have kids as you can quite literally do whatever you want. This is assuming you can afford it. Although, with national credit card debt at a staggering $1.2 trillion and the average credit card balance soaring past $6,000, can Generation Z really afford it? 

Brittney said, "With other people my age, there’s so much pressure to chase promotion cycles and raises, and everyone is so burnt out." Burnt out? At 26? 

This generation has decided to flip the script of how they view their own financial plan, which is live for today and don’t worry about tomorrow.  

There is a much more cynical view from people in their 20s that they will be able to afford a home, retire comfortably and reap the benefits of Social Security. So, we are witnessing a counterculture of younger people turning the retirement script upside down with this idea of having three- to six-month breaks in between their next career move. 

A very close friend of mine has a daughter who left Google recently at the age of 30. She had done very well there, rising through the ranks and building an income of almost $300,000. But, feeling the passion to live for today, she quit the job and is currently living for four months in Hawaii and then off to two months in Bali before she figures out her next career move. Is this something that Boomers and Gen Xers should have done when they were younger? 

The phrase micro-retirement was first described in "The 4-Hour Workweek," a self-help and careers guidance book published by the entrepreneur Tim Ferris in 2007.  However, most young people may not fully think about the financial consequences of these mini-retirement decisions. 

Your 401k/retirement savings: For Gen Z workers, they need to look closely at the matching and profit-sharing contributions from their company. Often, these contributions made by the employer have a vesting schedule and it could be a horrific financial move to walk away from unvested money that could have a substantial impact on your retirement balances over the long haul. 

Your ability to earn the same income … or more: The strategy of micro-retirement assumes you’ll be able to re-enter the workplace quickly and at the same income or more. Part of growing your income, bonuses and potentially company stock is often tied to your tenure with a company.  

It’s unknown yet how employers will view someone who has two, three, or four breaks in their resume to micro-retire and whether they will want to hire that person knowing they could quit in a couple of years after the employer invested tons of time and money training that new employee. 

Your Social Security: While some Gen Z workers believe they will never see a dime of Social Security, it’s important to account for how a break in your income will affect your long-term Social Security. It’s likely the full retirement age for those in their 20s will be past the age of 67, but having gaps of income could make your overall Social Security lower down the road and impact your overall retirement. 

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Debt: What’s most worrisome aspect of this new trend is the debt that younger workers in America may take on to achieve a mini retirement. Most people in retirement aren’t jet-setting around the world and often these micro-retirement breaks are partnered with exotic vacations or luxury travel which could increase the debt load on younger people. 

This new trend that emerged on TikTok sees Gen Z workers from around the world vowing to take periodic breaks from the office to protect their "mental health" — despite being several decades away from the retirement age. 

On one hand, I’ve done financial plans for many people in their 40s and 50s who are seeking an early retirement to start to enjoy their hard-earned money and savings. However, many of those people often worry about running out of money, so they’ll extend the amount of time they work another five or 10 years to be sure they have enough retirement savings to do whatever they want to do in retirement. In some cases, health issues that arise like a bad knee or hip or something even more consequential may stop them from fully enjoying the assets that they have saved up. 

You could say it’s irresponsible to not focus on saving and planning for your future to just enjoy every nickel and more that you have in the bank today. 

You are not only applying a much narrower window of achieving retirement success with micro-retirement, but it could also cost America billions of dollars to take care of people who didn’t save because they wanted to spend their money today. Are you ready to bail out people for their future retirement like people got bailed out for college loans? 

So, who has it right? Those of us that toil away, max out our 401(k), pay down our house quicker and save that bucket list for when we retire? Or does Gen Z have it right with the attitude that tomorrow is never promised, who knows when we will have a COVID-19 like event again? You should just sit back, assume you’ll work forever, and soak up as much fun as you can when you are in your 20s and 30s? Time will tell if this is another fad, or it will become a staple of how people live in the future.  

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When I think of the farmers I grew up around, I think of resilience and stewardship. These are people who rise before the sun, work tirelessly to feed not only their families but all of us and endure hardships most of us cannot imagine. Yet the headlines about America’s farming recession remind us of just how much they shoulder — and how little recognition they often receive. 

As an actor, recognition finds you whether you want it or not. While the work is meaningful, it can pale compared to the daily hours, grit and commitment farming families dedicate daily. There is no craft services table waiting for them — they are feeding everyone else.  

Farming is not just a job — it is a calling. Theirs is often an unnoticed sacrifice, from the long hours and rising costs to the unpredictable weather and policy challenges. A single bag of corn seed now costs $230, nearly double the price of a few years ago. Combine that with declining crop prices, and farmers must navigate a system stacked against them. Yet they persevere because their work feeds millions and sustains communities. 

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My great-grandfather, Gulbrand Nelson, left Norway to settle in Wisconsin before moving to South Dakota, where our family farm still stands today. That upbringing instilled in me the importance of values, tradition and faith — ideals I see fading as time passes. If we let them fade long enough, they will vanish. 

I’ve been blessed in my career with the ability to do things I believe in. At this stage in my life, it has become all the more important to work on projects that matter to me and the legacy I will leave to my children, grandchildren and those who have entrusted me with their viewing time over the years.  

My family's heritage inspired me to take on one such project called "Green and Gold," a film that reflects the spirit of farming families and their struggles today. The project embodies what I value most: resilience, stewardship, and legacy. It is a tribute to the farmers who quietly hold our country together. 

Growing up near farming communities, I saw firsthand what that perseverance looks like: long days in the fields, families working through mechanical failures or harsh weather, and a deep-rooted pride in their labor. Those experiences shaped my values and the stories I want to tell. 

When I was offered the opportunity to be part of "Green and Gold," I knew it was more than a role — it was a chance to honor the legacy of farming families. The film highlights their resilience and quiet strength, reminding us of their vital contributions to our country. 

Farmers are America's backbone. Their stewardship of the land reflects faith, responsibility and commitment to something greater than themselves. Yet, they are often left to face economic and policy challenges alone. This farming recession is not just a farming issue but a national one. Rural communities are struggling, and the ripple effects will touch us all. We must do more than recognize farmers in times of crisis. We must advocate for policies that support them, invest in rural infrastructure, and champion their contributions to our everyday lives.  

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Beyond the economic struggles, farming takes an emotional toll. In conversations with farmers, while preparing for "Green and Gold," I heard pride in their work and concern about the future. Who will carry on their legacy? Will their children want to inherit the struggles that come with it? These are not just questions — they are the realities shaping rural America today. 

We owe so much to our farmers. They feed us, clothe us and sustain our economy. Their work is woven into the fabric of our history, yet their voices are often absent from national conversations. By telling their stories — on screen and off — we can honor their contributions and address their challenges. 

Take a moment to reflect on the farmers behind the meals you eat and the clothes you wear. Support your local farmers’ markets, advocate for policies that uplift them, and express gratitude for their tireless work. 

I have walked down many red carpets in my career, surrounded by accolades and recognition. Yet, may these words, in even the smallest way, serve as an amber wave of gratitude to honor farming families across our great land. 

Thank you, farmers. 

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that federal employees must return to in-person work by early February or "be terminated," the latest in a string of actions announced by the new administration as it looks to crack down on remote work. 

Trump addressed the changes Wednesday at the White House shortly before signing into law the immigration-focused Laken Riley bill.

Asked about the new requirements for federal workers, Trump said, "We’re requiring them to show up to work or be terminated."

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING

His remarks come just hours after the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, began emailing roughly 2 million federal employees on Tuesday, offering them the equivalent of a buyout if they do not return to in-person work within a specified time frame. 

Employees have until Feb. 6 to decide whether to take the buyouts, OPM said, noting that most employees will be required to show up in person five days a week.

Those who choose not to continue their roles in person would be provided with what the email said would be a "dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program."

Employees who resign were also told they will retain all pay and benefits regardless of workload and will be exempt from in-person work requirements until Sep. 30, 2025.

"We think a very substantial number of people will not show up to work, and, therefore, our government will get smaller and more efficient," Trump told reporters of the plan Wednesday. "And that's what we've been looking to do for many, many decades."

'GET BACK TO WORK': HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK IN 1ST HEARING OF NEW CONGRESS
 

He also suggested federal employees may be asked to "prove" they did not have another job during the period of remote work, a difficult issue to correct for given that an estimated 8.6 million U.S. residents work multiple jobs, or roughly 5.2% of the U.S. workforce, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"We may ask these people to prove that they didn't have another job during their so-called employment with the United States of America, because if they did, that would be unlawful," Trump said.

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 "A lot of people are getting paychecks, but they're actually working other jobs, so they'll have to prove that to us that they weren't," Trump said.

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this article. 

A Washington state Democrat is floating a policy to help protect unemployed illegal immigrants who are unable to receive unemployment benefits.

The news comes as President-elect Trump and his border czar-designate Thomas Homan signal a crackdown on illegal immigration and talk of "mass deportation" plans in a reversal of the Biden-era status quo.

State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is introducing a bill that would ensure Washington residents legally ineligible to work in the U.S. – a group for which illegal immigrants compose the vast majority – have access to assistance.

Saldaña, of Seattle, declined to comment further on her bill to Fox News Digital, but a representative for the lawmaker noted she had previously highlighted "undocumented workers' … substantial contributions to Washington’s economy."

BIDEN'S BORDER CRISIS WREAKING HAVOC ON K-12 SCHOOLS SAYS TOP GOP LAWMAKER

That group collectively paid almost $400 million in unemployment taxes over the past 10 years, and the bill will aim to ensure those who pay into the system are able to rely on it when they need to, her office said.

The representative said Saldaña has reintroduced similar legislation during both Democrat and Republican administrations in the past because the "inequities in our immigration system" are systemic and longstanding.

Saldaña has previously argued that providing unemployment benefits to undocumented workers who qualify will help stabilize the workforce and prevent future cases of poverty and homelessness due to job loss.

It will therefore have lasting positive effects on the Evergreen State’s economy, her office said.

Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said he had not seen the text of the bill as of Monday afternoon but was aware of the proposal itself.

CALIFORNIA BILL AIMED AT MAKING IT EASIER FOR MIGRANTS TO BUY HOMES MAKES MAJOR ADVANCEMENT

"We have a lot of work to do on immigration, both on undocumented immigrants and on legal immigration in our state. That's largely a federal issue," Braun said.

"I look for the folks in D.C. to handle [the immigration issue] and for us [in state government] to stay clear."

Under federal law, illegal immigrants are not eligible to apply for work permits and, therefore, unable to register or file for unemployment compensation. Neither are individuals with expired work authorizations and dependents of people living in the U.S. under several visa classifications.

The excluded visa classes include O – "extraordinary ability"; R – Religious worker; and F – student visas.

According to a 1985 memo from the Department of Labor, "an alien must be legally authorized to work in the United States to be considered ‘available for work’ – Therefore, an alien without current, valid authorization to work from the INS is not legally ‘available for work’ and not eligible for benefits."

The memo referred to the INS, or Immigration and Naturalization Service, a predecessor entity to today’s Department of Homeland Security.

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Elsewhere in the U.S., the Colorado Office of New Americans allows undocumented workers to access a "Benefit Recovery Fund" to help those who have been "separated from employment through no fault of their own" and meet several other specifications.

In California, however, Democrat lawmakers sought to offer assistance similar to that Saldaña is seeking but were blocked by fellow liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom vetoed that legislation in September and also blocked a proposal that would have allowed illegal immigrants better access to home loans and mortgages.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is taking aim at the controversial H-1B visa program, arguing that it replaces "good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad" — just as the program is at the center of a debate within the Republican Party.

"The main function of the H-1B visa program and other guest worker initiatives is not to hire ‘the best and the brightest,’ but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad," Sanders wrote on X. "The cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make."

The self-described democratic socialist has a history of opposing the program, which allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers for specialty occupations. It is predominantly used by the tech industry, but has faced criticism mainly from the right that it brings in cheap labor from abroad to replace American workers.

TRUMP SAYS HE'S NOT CHANGED HIS MIND ON H-1B VISAS AS DEBATE RAGES WITHIN MAGA COALITION

The program recently became part of an intra-Republican debate when Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who have been tapped by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, argued for the importance of foreign workers for tech companies.

"The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B," Musk said on X.

That reopened a rift between those on the right over the program and whether it is being used to attract the best talent or being used by companies to bring in cheaper labor, primarily from India, who are tied to their job by the visa.

Sanders cited statistics to show that in 2022 and 2023, the top 30 corporations using the program laid off over 85,000 American workers, while hiring over 34,000 H-1B workers, and that 33% of new IT jobs are filled by foreign national guest workers. He also pointed to layoffs at Tesla, one of Musk’s companies.

ERIC SCHMITT BLASTS ‘ABUSE’ OF H-1B VISA PROGRAM, SAYS AMERICANS ‘SHOULDN’T TRAIN THEIR FOREIGN REPLACEMENTS'

"If this program is really supposed to be about importing workers with highly advanced degrees in science and technology, why are H-1B guest workers being employed as dog trainers, massage therapists, cooks, and English teachers?" he said. "Can we really not find English teachers in America?"

Sanders conceded that there may be labor shortages that could be filled by H-1B workers, but he called for substantially increased guest worker fees in order to pay for opportunities for Americans, as well as other reforms, including increased minimum wages and the ability to easily move jobs.

"Bottom line. It should never be cheaper for a corporation to hire a guest worker from overseas than an American worker," he said.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVES TO CHANGE H-1B GUEST WORKER PROGRAM TO PRIORITIZE HIGHER-WAGE APPLICANTS

Sanders said that the "economic elite and political establishments" promised in the 1990s that a loss of blue-collar jobs due to free trade agreements would be offset by more white-collar IT jobs.

"Well, that turned out to be a Big Lie. Not only have corporations exported millions of blue-collar manufacturing jobs to China, Mexico, and other low-wage countries, they are now importing hundreds of thousands of low-paid guest workers from abroad to fill the white-collar technology jobs that are available," he said.

Sanders comments come days after President-elect Trump, who had railed against H-1B abuse during the 2016 campaign, said that he has always supported the program. 

"I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program," he told the New York Post.

President-elect Donald Trump claimed this week that he has not changed his mind about the controversial H-1B visa program and that the U.S. needs "smart people" coming into the country, amid a furious intra-Republican debate on the visa program.

"I didn't change my mind. I've always felt we have to have the most competent people in our country, and we need competent people," Trump said at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday evening. "We need smart people coming into our country. We need a lot of people coming in. We're going to have jobs like we've never had before."

The H-1B visa program allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers for specialty occupations and is overwhelmingly used by the tech industry. However, it has long been controversial for some conservatives, who say it is abused by tech companies to bring in cheap, predominantly Indian, labor to replace American workers.

ERIC SCHMITT BLASTS ‘ABUSE’ OF H-1B VISA PROGRAM, SAYS AMERICANS ‘SHOULDN’T TRAIN THEIR FOREIGN REPLACEMENTS'

The program hit the headlines last week when Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who have been tapped by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, argued for the importance of foreign workers for tech companies.

"The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B," Musk said on X.

That re-opened a rift between those on the right over the program and whether it is being used to attract the best talent or being used by companies to bring in cheaper labor, who are tied to their job by the visa.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said on Fox News Sunday that H1-B visas are being "abused."

"I think the abuses of the H-1B program have been evident, where you have sort of the sons and daughters of those factory workers who lost their jobs, got white collar jobs as accountants, and they're, you know, training their replacements, the foreign workers who are undercutting their wages," he said.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MOVES TO CHANGE H-1B GUEST WORKER PROGRAM TO PRIORITIZE HIGHER-WAGE APPLICANTS

Trump has previously shown skepticism about the H-1B visa program. During his 2016 presidential campaign, he promised to tackle the abuse of the program and pointed to allegations of companies forcing Americans to train their cheaper replacements.

"The H-1B program is neither high-skilled nor immigration: these are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay. I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney in Florida when Americans were forced to train their foreign replacements," he said in 2016.

"I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions," he said.

He also said that his companies use the H-1B program "and I shouldn’t be allowed to use it."

His administration immediately began looking into reforms to the H-1B visa program, and, in 2020, it proposed a sweeping rule that would prioritize the selection of higher wage applicants for the approximately 85,000 visas allocated annually.

That rule would have required that registrations at the highest of four wage levels get to apply for the visa allocation first. Once those at the highest level have applied, then the process would turn to level III, and so on until the spaces are filled.

"Put simply, because demand for H-1B visas has exceeded the annual supply for more than a decade, DHS prefers that cap-subject H-1B visas go to beneficiaries earning the highest wages relative to their [Standard Occupational Classification] codes and area(s) of intended employment," the rule says.

TRUMP SAYS HE IS A ‘BELIEVER’ IN H-1B VISAS FOR SKILLED WORKERS AS RIGHT SPARS ON IMMIGRATION: REPORT 

The rule was not put into effect due to the Biden administration, which abandoned it and has since proposed a rule of its own. However, it was greeted favorably by immigration hawks. Other rules put forward during the Trump administration proposed narrowing the definition of "specialty occupation" and making changes to the way the "prevailing wage" is set in order to make sure U.S. wages are not undercut.

The incoming Trump administration has not said specifically what it will do in terms of H-1B and whether it will resurrect its first-term efforts. However, Musk proposed "raising the minimum salary significantly and adding a yearly cost for maintaining the H1B, making it materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically. "

"I’ve been very clear that the program is broken and needs major reform," he said on Saturday.

At the same time, Trump told the New York Post that the program is "great."

"I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them," Trump said.

"I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Virginia's top legislative Democrat sounded an alarm over President-elect Trump's Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) plan to tell a portion of the federal workforce "you're fired" for efficiency's sake.

The state Senate's top Republican responded Thursday by saying the majority party is "asking the wrong question."

Earlier this week, House Speaker Don Scott Jr. wrote a letter to the commonwealth's unemployment agency warning of the fallout from such a plan and a potential uptick in unemployment claims.

"We should all be concerned about what these changes mean for the employees raising their families in Virginia, paying taxes in Virginia and calling Virginia home," Scott wrote to Virginia Employment Commissioner Demetrios Melis in a letter reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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"Taking President-elect Trump at his word that he will immediately move to downsize the workforce and relocate agencies, we can safely assume that a large portion of our workforce that resides in the commonwealth will be negatively affected," added Scott, D-Portsmouth.

Scott reportedly said he believes Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads area he represents would be hardest-hit.

"I have concerns that, in the coming months, not only will our nation experience a mass increase in unemployment due to the proposed changes to our government. But, more importantly, those changes will have a detrimental effect on Virginians, our commonwealth’s unemployment rate and our economy overall," he told the Times-Dispatch.

However, Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-New Kent, said the concept of DOGE addresses a greater concern for Virginians and U.S. taxpayers when it comes to fiscally responsible governance.

"That's the wrong question," McDougle said in an interview Thursday.

YOUNGKIN ‘PERSONALLY INVITES’ NEW TRUMP ADMIN TO SETTLE IN VA OVER MD, DC

"The question should be whether we are taking dollars that Virginians are earning and paying to the federal government and whether they are being spent wisely.

"If the federal government is paying people to do jobs they shouldn't be doing, then that's spending taxpayer dollars unwisely."

Trump's DOGE co-leader, Vivek Ramaswamy, previously told Fox Business, "We expect mass reductions … [and] certain agencies to be deleted outright." 

Ramaswamy's counterpart, Elon Musk, has expressed similar sentiments, including a tweet stating, "Delete CFPB," a reference to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Additionally, Sen. Joni Ernst, the Iowa Republican seen as the top DOGE lawmaker in the upper chamber, is spearheading a bill to relocate about one-third of federal workers outside the District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia area. The legislation proposed by Ernst has a lengthy acronym, the DRAIN THE SWAMP Act.

Ernst also demanded answers from Biden agency heads about work-from-home policies their staffs enjoy.

In his remarks Thursday, McDougle added that if Democrats were so concerned about the subject, they should have balked at plans to funnel Virginia taxpayer funds to the Washington-area Metro system to "subsidize" the lack of ridership from telework policies criticized by Ernst.

"I didn't feel our Democratic friends were as concerned with the millions of dollars going to fund Metro amid [federal workers not being required to] go into the office and having to subsidize them," McDougle said.

Virginia's 2024 budget included about $144 million in Metro funding. Metro CEO Randy Clarke said in June the transit agency found an additional $50 million in efficiencies for its nearly $5 billion budget, according to multiple reports.

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Earlier this month, a top Democrat on the state House Labor Committee, said she was "very disappointed" with a response from representatives for Gov. Glenn Youngkin when she voiced concerns about potential federal workforce cuts.

State Delegate Candi Mundon King, D-Dumfries, noted in November that thousands of federal workers live in the state and in her district and called DOGE's plan "disastrous" after the Virginia Republican Party touted the "streamlin[ing of] government bureaucracy" as "good for all Americans, including Virginians."

Mundon King's district sits in the Washington exurb of Prince William County, which, for many years, was led by high-profile conservative Corey Stewart but has recently swung heavily Democratic.

"No wonder Northern Virginia has lost faith in Virginia Republicans," Mundon King said.

Youngkin, a successful business executive before entering politics, previously said anyone who leaves the private sector to work in government will immediately recognize it needs drastic adjustments.

"Whether it's me coming into state government in Virginia or President Trump coming back into the federal government, [we] know it is inefficient. It does not work with the same efficiency you would expect out of a business," he told The Daily Progress of Charlottesville.

Government efficiency plans "may result in some job losses for the federal government. … The great thing about the Commonwealth of Virginia is we have nearly 300,000 jobs that are unfilled," he added.

Melis similarly told Scott Virginia is "well prepared" to adapt to changes in employment figures and reassured Mundon King earlier this month that some of the concerns voiced were premature, according to The Roanoke Times.

Youngkin earlier this month invited workers in Trump's incoming administration to choose Virginia as their place of residence over Maryland or the District of Columbia, citing, in part, lower taxes and better-ranked schools.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez said Virginia's economy was "stagnant" and the unemployment system "in shambles" when the Republican took office after eight years of Democratic governorship.

"Commonsense policies to lower the cost of living and bring real business-like efficiency to government have helped fix both," Martinez said.

"The governor appreciates Speaker Scott’s recent commitments to support further tax relief, which, along with a roaring economy and over 300,000 open jobs, means Virginia is in a great position as the president works to shrink the bloated federal government."