It’s been a rough six months for federal government workers, and few places in the country have been hit as hard by layoffs as Fairfax County.
Based on 2023 Census estimates, approximately 80,000 people — or 13% of the county’s entire workforce — are employed by the federal government, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority reported this spring. But with drastic cuts initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in recent months, that number has likely plummeted.
The next meeting of George Mason University’s Board of Visitors could be among the most heavily scrutinized in the Northern Virginia school’s 53-year history.
In addition to revisiting an anti-diversity-programs resolution that was tabled in May, the board is scheduled “to discuss the performance goals” of GMU President Gregory Washington during a closed session at its annual meeting tomorrow morning (Friday).
FCPS Pride is urging Northern Virginia school districts to hold their ground after the Department of Education accused the schools’ trans-inclusive policies of violating Title IX.
Last week, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found Fairfax County Public Schools and nearby Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William and Loudoun school divisions in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The findings argue that letting students use bathrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex.
The U.S. Department of Education is pushing several Northern Virginia school districts, including Fairfax County Public Schools, to roll back their policies intended to support transgender students.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced today (Friday) that it has found FCPS and its counterparts in Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William and Loudoun in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, arguing that letting students use bathrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex.
The Trump administration has opened up yet another investigation into George Mason University in what many students, faculty and lawmakers fear is an attempt to oust GMU President Gregory Washington.
The Justice Department announced yesterday (Thursday) that its Civil Rights Division is investigating Virginia’s largest public university for allegedly “discriminatory” employment practices — specifically its past commitments to increase representation and support for women and people of color.
Despite continued concerns about inflation, federal worker layoffs and other issues, business leaders in Northern Virginia are feeling more upbeat about their own economic prospects and those of the region than they were this spring, a new survey found.
The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (NVC) worked with the marketing firm Pinkston to survey 135 corporate executives and business owners about their experiences with the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government, their expectations for the near-future and their policy priorities.
Food distributors operating in Fairfax County say newly approved cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits could have a devastating impact on a region already struggling with food insecurity.
President Donald Trump’s recent federal tax bill includes historic cuts to safety net programs like SNAP, the Washington Post reported.
Fairfax County’s top elected officials at the state and local level united this morning (Wednesday) to urge Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration to provide more support for fired federal workers.
In a joint statement, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Jeff McKay and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34), who represents southeastern Fairfax, pinned the “staggering rise in unemployment” across the county on “the reckless policies of Donald Trump” and the “complicity” of Virginia’s Republican leaders.
Fairfax County Democrats are going on the offensive over the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” calling the legislation a “betrayal” that will hurt Virginians.
Speaking last Thursday (July 10) at a virtual roundtable, three local lawmakers took aim at the nearly 1,000-page budget reconciliation bill, which was signed into law on July 4.
Fairfax County’s efforts to support additional affordable housing may have received an unexpected boost from the recently passed federal budget reconciliation act.
County officials are working through the details, but the changes in federal law could represent “a significant step forward” in financing affordable housing, Tom Fleetwood, director of the county’s Department of Housing and Community Development, told the Board of Supervisors at a housing committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday).
