Trump’s Executive Order Freezing Federal Pay Saves Taxpayers From Extraordinary Pay Increases
29th December 2018
President Donald Trump issued an executive order effectively freezing federal pay for 2019 at current 2018 levels.
Had the president not issued this executive order (and lacking congressional action on federal pay), federal workers would have received a 2.1 percent across-the-board pay increase, as well as a 25 percent increase in locality-based pay.
A 2.1 percent across-the-board increase would have cost roughly $5 billion in 2019 while the locality-based increase would have cost a reported $26 billion.