Gavin Newsom questions Trump's plan to cancel federal workers' pay raise in poignant tweet

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom responded on Twitter on Thursday to President Donald Trump's plans to cancel pay raises due in January for civilian federal workers California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom responded on Twitter on Thursday to President Donald Trump's plans to cancel pay raises due in January for civilian federal workers Photo: Twitter Screen Grab Photo: Twitter Screen Grab Image 1 of / 213 Caption Close Gavin Newsom questions Trump's plan to cancel federal workers' pay raise in poignant tweet 1 / 213 Back to Gallery

President Donald Trump announced Thursday a plan to cancel pay raises due in January for civilian federal workers — and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom was quick to question the proposal.

Newsom wrote on Twitter, "So... to be clear... you think we can afford a $1.4 TRILLION tax cut for millionaires and corporations, but we cannot afford to give a public servant a 2% pay raise."

The tweet gained traction in the social media world. More than 1,000 people have commented on it, sparking a heated debate around whether federal workers should be paid more.

Many federal workers hopped into the conversation, sharing how the lack of a raise will impact them.

"I'm 30 year Fed worker who, for the 1st time ever, is having additional money taken out of my paycheck to cover the tax cut I'm not benefiting from, in order to not owe fed tax next year," wrote one.

"My sister is also a Fed employee," another chimed in. "It's awful that people don't see y'all as regular working folks. She makes $19/hr and has a mountain of medical bills, in a metro with a sky-high COL (cost of living). Her rent goes up at least 5% a year. Trump is punishing working people with this."

On the other side of the debate, several commenters argued the federal government overspends on staff, salaries and benefits. They support the president's plan.

"Frankly, they are lucky to have a Federal (or State) job," wrote one commenter. "Do away with half the government jobs and we might be approaching a 'right-sized' government enterprise. Gavin, drain the swamp baby!"

Trump shared a letter with House and Senate leaders Thursday describing a pay raise for federal workers as "inappropriate." He said he is scrapping a 2.1 percent across-the-board raise for most workers. Locality pay increases, which adjust workers' paychecks based on their locations, was also scheduled to take effect, but Trump said those would be canceled.

"We must maintain efforts to put our nation on a fiscally sustainable course, and federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases," Trump said. The president last year signed a package of tax cuts that is forecast to add about $1.5 trillion to federal deficits over 10 years.