‘Should Not Happen’: McEnany Drops Receipts After Dem Complains About Gov’t Layoffs
Fox News anchor Kayleigh McEnany referenced a 2017 Washington Post article that discussed internal bureaucratic opposition to President Donald Trump’s first-term policies. This came in response to Marie Harf, a former Obama administration official, who criticized the recent dismissal of federal employees during a Monday discussion.
Trump restructured the United States Digital Service, renaming it the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) through an executive order on January 20. The newly named department was also given expanded responsibilities, leading to layoffs in certain federal agencies.
During a segment on “Outnumbered,” McEnany highlighted reports suggesting that some government employees intended to stay in their positions “out of spite” until Trump’s term concluded.
“I do think that federal employees fall into three buckets. You have the political appointees, some of whom are thrilled that this is happening; they see this as a revolution in government. Then you have this other pot of hardworking federal government employees. I think they don’t care who the president is; I think they care deeply about their job, and that pot does exist, but that is not all federal workers,” McEnany explained.
“There are federal workers that have this attitude. This was an NBC anonymous communication that came to them. I saw this a few weeks ago—a federal employee at the Department of Veterans Affairs said, ‘A lot of us are going to stay out of spite.’ They continued, ‘We’re here for however long we want to be here. I could be here until retirement in 30 years; the Trump Administration is only here for four.’ What’s wrong with trying to root out employees staying out of spite?” McEnany questioned.
Harf pushed back, arguing that the dismissals were unlawful and accused DOGE of carrying out “attacks on public servants” in a nearly two-minute critique. On Friday, a federal judge ruled that layoffs at the U.S. Agency for International Development could proceed despite legal challenges from two unions representing agency workers.
“DOGE isn’t managing these people, and at the same time, people across the country can’t pay their mortgages or put food on the table for their kids because they got fired from a job they thought had job security. That is not electorally or morally a good plan, I think, for Republicans,” Harf contended.
Following a debate between the two, McEnany revisited the 2017 Washington Post article detailing how bureaucrats in Trump’s first term sought to resist his administration.
“It’s easy to oversimplify and point to some stories of individuals who got termination notices, but the background is this: This is not a Republican newspaper, conservative newspaper, this is ‘The Washington Post’… years ago: ‘Resistance From Within The Federal Government,’” McEnany noted.
“Listen to this—less than two weeks into the Trump Administration, federal workers are in regular consultation with recently-departed Obama-era political appointees about what they can do to push back against the new president’s initiatives. There was even a support group that took place about how to resist the Trump Administration. That should not happen. That is undermining the will of the American people,” McEnany emphasized.
WATCH:
Despite controversies surrounding his administration, Trump’s approval rating has remained stable and positive one month after resuming office while rapidly implementing his agenda.
According to Newsweek, Trump has achieved at least 50 percent approval in three recent polls, with the outlet stating that the “surveys suggest that most Americans approve of the job the president is doing, despite other polls indicating that Trump’s favorability ratings have declined since his first few days back in office.”
A SurveyUSA poll of 2,000 adults found that 51 percent approve of Trump’s performance as president, while 45 percent disapprove, giving him a net approval rating of +6 points.
Regional analysis of the results indicates that Trump’s support is strongest in rural areas (59 percent), compared to suburban (48 percent) and urban regions (51 percent).
Additionally, a Morning Consult poll reported that 50 percent of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, with 47 percent disapproving.