J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing feds, said he's optimistic about upcoming budget talks and the next four years under President Donald Trump.
To be fair, he added, he's optimistic by nature.
"If all my glasses are half empty, I'm gonna find a glass that's half full," Cox said during a roundtable with reporters on the union's top issues for 2017.
And there’s some reason to be optimistic — this isn’t the first change in administration that came with major changes in mission and focus, and the union has been able to work through those changes in the past.
"We’ve been here and done this over and over," Cox said. "We’ve been here with Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan; from Ronald Reagan to Bush Sr. to Bill Clinton to George Bush to Barack Obama. From when Democrats had control over the United States Congress for 50 years to Republicans having control back to Democrats having control back to Republicans having control … we continue to see the federal government operate."
The union president has not met with the president-elect, but that’s not unusual — previous AFGE presidents did not meet with then-president-elects. However, AFGE is part of the AFL-CIO, which works with the White House on a regular basis, Cox added.
Despite having campaigned aggressively for Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton, Cox said the union has been able to find some common ground with the president-elect.
"President-elect Trump has said, not no but heck no, that he will not touch Social Security, he will not touch Medicare, he has been emphatic that he will not do it," he said. "We will stand firm with President Trump as he stands up and holds his campaign promise very firm."
Cox also said he hopes Trump will walk back his pledge to institute a federal hiring freeze, noting the president-elect’s business mindset and the recent news that he was able to convince a major manufacturer — Carrier — to keep its production on U.S. soil.
"It’s the same scenario: If you’re trying to get rid of federal employees, you’re trying to get rid of employment of American citizens," Cox said. "It’s just like moving industry to Mexico or some other country. Stand up and fight for your employees."
With that, Cox also summed the things he most fears from the incoming administration in one word: "Unpredictability."
"It’s no secret to anyone Mr. Trump has had occasions when the world was perfect today and this is what he was going to do, and tomorrow morning the world was a whole different world and he’s going to do something totally different," Cox elaborated when prodded. "There’s a certain unpredictability that goes with him."
Cox added the president-elect’s experience is also untested. While he certainly has experience in industry, that’s not the same as running government, he said.
Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.
