Hochul highlights New York state jobs for federal workers

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is turning President Trump’s TV catchphrase upside down, launching a “You’re Hired” campaign to woo federal workers who are losing their jobs as the Trump administration makes sweeping program cuts.

“The federal government might say, ‘You’re fired,’ but here in New York, we say, ‘You’re hired.’ In fact, we love federal workers,” Hochul said in a video announcing the effort and a state hiring portal for former federal employees. “Whatever your skills, we value public service … Come join our New York State family.”

The state is launching its appeal to federal workers as the Trump administration, led by the president’s Department of Government Efficiency and tech billionaire Elon Musk, has set out to reshape government and scale back the workforce. Thousands of federal workers have received pink slips a month into Trump’s second term in office, and more are expected. Others have resigned in protest of the new administration’s actions, and Trump offered buyout incentives for federal workers willing to resign.

Many federal workers were shocked over the weekend to receive an email from Musk directing them to detail their recent work efforts. Musk doubled-down on the email on X and said failing to respond would be “taken as a resignation,” though some individual agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, State Department and Department of Defense have provided separate guidance to their employees. All are headed by Trump appointees.

Trump was famously the host of the NBC competition reality show “The Apprentice” from 2004 to 2015, when he launched his first successful campaign for president. His catchphrase from the show, “You’re Fired,” became a pop cultural sensation.