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A Fairfax resident and disabled Army veteran who was dismissed from the Federal Aviation Administration will attend President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress as the guest of Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.
Kaine invited Jason King to Trump’s first congressional address since beginning his second term on Jan. 20. The senator said King’s experience highlights the effects of the administration’s sweeping federal workforce cuts on veterans and aviation safety.
King served in the Army as a transportation coordinator responsible for the safe movement of personnel, equipment and supplies. He later joined the FAA as executive assistant to the agency’s director of safety.
In that role, King participated in investigations of incidents including the Jan. 29 midair collision near Reagan National Airport that killed 67 people. He had worked at the FAA for about eight months when he received a termination letter on Feb. 10, despite protections that would typically exempt him from layoffs as a disabled veteran.
About 400 FAA employees were laid off in February, according to the Professional Aviation Specialists Association, a union representing some of the affected workers. The cuts included aviation safety assistants, mechanics and others involved in aircraft safety and operations.
King said the deadly collision near Reagan National underscored why aviation safety requires sustained investment, oversight and expertise.
“Cutting costs should never come at the expense of safety, especially when it comes to the American people,” King said.
Thousands of federal employees have reportedly lost their jobs since Trump returned to office, with recent dismissals targeting many probationary workers who had held their positions for less than two years. Cuts have affected agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services, the IRS, the National Park Service and the CIA.
Kaine said veterans have been hit disproportionately because they account for 30% of the federal workforce. He and Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for the administration to reinstate an estimated 6,000 veterans dismissed during the mass terminations and provide them with back pay and full benefits.
“Jason’s story is a powerful example of how indiscriminately firing federal employees disproportionately hurts our veterans and also threatens the safety of the American people who rely on agencies like the FAA,” Kaine said.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner also selected a recently dismissed federal worker as his guest. Ashley Ranalli worked as a ranger at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park before becoming one of more than 1,000 National Park Service employees estimated to have been laid off.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has called the federal workforce reductions reckless and warned of economic damage in Northern Virginia, where many residents work for the government or federal contractors. The county created an online resource hub for affected employees.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin also unveiled a jobs portal while continuing to support shrinking the federal government as a way to reduce what he describes as waste.
Virginia will hold a statewide virtual hiring event Wednesday. Fairfax County and other Northern Virginia governments are also working with Rep. Don Beyer on a resource fair scheduled for noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at Wakefield High School in Arlington.
Trump’s address is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Some Democrats, including Beyer and Rep. Gerry Connolly, plan to stay away, while others will attend with constituents affected by the federal cuts to signal their opposition to the administration’s actions.