Rep. Don Beyer, U.S. Congressman representing Virginia’s 8th district since 2015, used his social media platform on October 10, 2025, to criticize the Trump administration and former Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought over recent federal worker firings during a government shutdown.
In a post published at 18:31 UTC, Beyer stated, “A government shutdown does not require mass firings of federal workers, it forbids it. Trump and Vought have fired federal workers by the thousands since the DOGE disaster. Republicans admit Trump and Vought hope to use the pretext of a shutdown to fire even more workers.”
Continuing his criticism in a follow-up post at 18:31 UTC, Beyer added, “Directing these firings during a shutdown violates the law, and the laws they are violating are criminal statutes. This Administration’s corruption is only matched by its willingness to sabotage our economy and raise prices for the American people.”
In another statement at 18:32 UTC, Beyer expressed concern about constitutional powers and bipartisan negotiations: “Trump and Vought’s contempt for Congress’ powers under the Constitution will make it harder to get the bipartisan deal that is needed to end this shutdown. I will do all I can to support and protect federal workers and contractors in Northern Virginia and across the country.”
Beyer has been an advocate for federal employees throughout his tenure in Congress. He replaced Jim Moran as representative of Virginia’s 8th district in 2015. Born in Trieste in 1950, Beyer currently resides in Alexandria and holds a BA from Williams College.
