Press Releases
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11) and Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, today led 7 of their House colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. State Department Office of Inspector General urging an investigation into the Trump Administration’s reckless dismantlement of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the termination of all 10,000 USAID personnel.
Washington, D.C. - Today, the Democratic members of Virginia’s congressional delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to OMB Director Russ Vought clarifying that threats to withhold or cancel back pay to furloughed federal workers would be illegal. The letter was signed by Representatives James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (VA-08), Robert C.
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative James Walkinshaw (D-VA), U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) today announced new legislation aimed at providing timely relief for federal workers who are illegally fired or experience other unjust prohibited personnel practices.
Today, Congressman James R. Walkinshaw released the following statement after an Axios report revealed that President Trump and OMB Director Russ Vought have drafted a faulty memo suggesting furloughed federal employees will not receive back pay.
“More bluster and BS from Russ Vought and Donald Trump. The law is clear. Trump signed it. They can’t just invent powers to punish federal workers. End the GOP vacation and stop the illegal threats.”
Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (D-VA), a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called on Chairman James Comer, to immediately hold a hearing with OMB Director Russ Vought on his threats to carry out mass firings at federal agencies during the Republican shutdown.
Today, Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (D-VA), a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued the following statement condemning OMB Director Russ Vought’s escalating threats to carry out mass firings of federal workers in the event of a government shutdown:
“Russ Vought is giving away the game. He knows he has no legal authority to carry out mass firings, and his actions are illegal. For him and Trump, their shutdown is a weapon to inflict cruelty and dismantle the federal workforce at any cost.”
Since January, our region has been under attack by the Trump administration. Agencies have been shuttered, federal employees have been subjected to RIFs, DOGE has unleashed chaos, and federal service has been demagogued. And now we are in a GOP Shutdown.
In an op-ed published by MSNBC on September 30, 2025, Congressman James Walkinshaw (VA-11) underscored how Russ Vought’s directive to fire federal workers during a shutdown is political intimidation, unconstitutional, and not valid administrative guidance.
Read the op-ed below or online at MSNBC.
Washington, D.C. – Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, today condemned the Trump Administration’s decision to defund the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), warning that the move represents a direct attack on independent oversight and accountability in government.
WASHINGTON – Today, Representative James Walkinshaw (VA-11.), a member of the House Oversight Committee, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), along with Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.), led 17 of their colleagues in pressing the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for answers on its cancellation of the 2025 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), an important tool for understanding and improving the federal workforce.