Trump’s budget calls for 2027 pay freeze

Updated at 3:30 p.m. ET.

President Trump's fiscal 2027 budget proposal, released Friday morning, would freeze federal civilian employees' pay in 2027, all while granting a sizeable raise for members of the armed services.

An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson told Government Executive that under Trump's budget, civilian workers would receive no pay increase next January. But under the plan, members of the military would receive between a 5% and 7% pay increase, with the highest raises going to the lowest ranked personnel.

“The administration recognizes the importance of America’s warfighters and their families, so the budget funds a military pay raise of 7% for all [Defense Department] military personnel ranked E-5 and below, 6% for E-6 to O-3, and 5% for O-4 and above,” the document states. “This enduring investment, far above the standard annual military pay raise, builds on the president’s recruiting and retention success, by doubling down on the administration’s goal to restore America’s fighting force.”

In order to follow through on his pay freeze plan, Trump must submit an "alternative pay plan" to Congress by August to avert sizeable automatic increases in locality pay due to the 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, an annual exercise from presidents of both parties since the law’s passage.

Last spring, the Office of Management and Budget told agencies through internal “pass back” documents to expect a pay freeze for 2026, but Trump's alternative pay plan ultimately advanced a 1% across-the-board raise for most civilian workers, and a 3.8% raise for select federal law enforcement occupations, in line with the pay increase seen in the military.

Democrats in Congress, conversely, have proposed a 4.1% raise for civilian feds, split between a 3.1% across-the-board increase in basic pay and an average 1% boost to locality pay.