Most civilian federal employees would not receive a pay raise next year in an alternative compensation plan released by President Donald Trump this week.
“Such a large raise for Federal employees while most Americans still struggle with the consequences of the Biden Administration’s giant inflation spree is unacceptable and would be unfair,” Trump wrote in a letter to Congress this week, first reported by Federal News Network.
“I have therefore decided to set at zero the pay adjustment to be made for the 2027 pay year.”
Federal law enforcement and military personnel would be exempted, with active officers across those categories receiving anywhere from a 3.6% to 7% pay raise, the letter says.
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“I strongly support the members of our Armed Forces, who are the greatest fighting force in the world and the defenders of American freedom,” Trump wrote. “We must work to rebuild our military’s readiness and capabilities by supporting our service members and their families.”
The Trump administration’s proposal to freeze salaries comes as the president has cracked down on job protections and expansion opportunities for federal employees. The White House forecast these moves in its April budget request for the upcoming fiscal year.
Under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990, which is meant to make government salaries competitive with private sector pay, the president is allowed to preempt an automatic increase determined by the law’s formula by issuing an alternative pay plan by the end of August. Congress has the authority to override the proposed changes until December, when the White House can eventually choose to cement an alternate pay plan through an executive order.
In April 2025, the Office of Management and Budget initially instructed federal agencies to plan for a civilian federal pay freeze for the next calendar year. That August, Trump ultimately issued an alternative pay plan to Congress that authorized a 1% pay increase.
Trump last froze federal civilian workers’ salaries in December 2018 during a partial government shutdown, but reversed the decision in March 2019 to give a 1.9% raise on average to civilian employees. The last president to issue a multiyear freeze was Barack Obama, who imposed the change due to deficit concerns from 2011 to 2013.
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