Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) spoke about federal workers during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Tuesday, going as far as to say they “don’t deserve” their paychecks.
Greene’s comments were made while responding to Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), who was urging the federal government not to privatize the U.S. Postal Service.
“These reports are beyond troubling, and I respectfully request that you have a hearing again on the USPS,” Krishnamoorthi told the committee. “No private-sector entity provides universal service across the nation, and without these letter carriers and others, more than 51.5 million households and businesses, especially in rural communities, would have no guaranteed delivery.”
In response, Greene made her eyebrow-raising remark.
“Those are not real jobs producing federal revenue, by the way. They’re consuming taxpayer dollars. Those jobs are paid for by the American tax people, who work real jobs, earn real income, pay federal taxes, and then pay these federal employees,” Greene said.
“Federal employees do not deserve their jobs. Federal employees do not deserve their paychecks. And these are jobs that can be fired at will.”
After the hearing, Greene faced criticism from her fellow congressman, as Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) said that a number of her own constituents work for the federal government.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene believes 6,008 of her constituents are unworthy of a job or a paycheck because they work for the federal government,” Escobar wrote on X. “To quote her favorite person: SAD!”
Krishnamoorthi had also previously noted that eliminating the Postal Service could throw “trillions of dollars of e-commerce transactions into turmoil.”
Greene has continued to push for layoffs of government workers by the Department of Government Efficiency and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
“We have Democrats crying over Elon Musk. Are you kidding me? The American people, the polling is out, 72%; Democrats and Republicans support DOGE, support it, 72%,” Greene said. “They are not upset about anything that Elon Musk is doing; as a matter of fact, they’re happy.”