Mayor of Eastern WA city with thousands of fed-paid workers catches heat for DOGE support
Richland Mayor Theresa Richardson is facing both pushback and praise for a recent social media post in support of billionaire Elon Musk and his efforts to cut federal spending under the Trump administration.
The post was made Feb. 11, just days before news broke that more than a dozen federal workers on probation overseeing work at the highly contaminated Department of Energy Hanford nuclear site and the DOE national lab in Richland were laid off, with more cuts expected.
“Are you listening to Elon Musk? He’s being so transparent. How can you doubt what he’s telling us?” read the post to Richardson’s private Facebook account.
Eleven days later on Friday, the post had received more than 460 reactions and 420 comments, though the post shows it has been moderated by Richardson, the retired CEO of Habitat for Humanity.
“I’m really grateful that he’s willing to do this,” Richardson later wrote of Musk.
Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, through executive order on Feb. 11 as a nascent workforce optimization initiative to curb spending across the federal government.
Its efforts have been far reaching, with cuts spanning grants at the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Democrats have criticized Trump’s austerity measures, especially with Musk — the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, and world’s richest man — at the helm. The New York Times reports an analysis shows the list of $55 billion in savings is “full of accounting errors, outdated data and other miscalculations.”
Hanford and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory together employ 19,000 workers, most of them in the Tri-Cities area, with their work overseen and directed by about 340 DOE employees.
But the largest federal presence is indirect. Many workers paid with federal dollars are employed by federal contractors.
Tri-City residents react
Many Tri-City residents voiced support for Trump’s DOGE effort in the comments of Richardson’s post.
“It’s refreshing. It’s innovative. It’s inconvenient. He’s looking to make government better,” wrote Leo Perales, a Pasco city councilman.
“It absolutely boggles my mind how people are passionately opposed to uncovering government fraud. Thankfully they’re the minority,” posted James Timmons.
Others voiced disapproval and called on Richardson to take a more compassionate approach. Some criticized her for allegedly deleting comments.
“It’s just a matter of time until it impacts the people you represent,” wrote Annie Jones. “The foundation of Richland is built off of federal spending. DOGE management is wildly unconstitutional in determining federal spending without congressional approval.”
Leslie Stegen posted: “We all want waste to be removed from the federal government. It’s how they are doing it that is wrong. They must follow the constitution and judges orders. They are doing neither. They are hurting real people not only here but in other countries as well. Shutting down agencies and freezing dollars without understanding the consequences and fallout is very irresponsible. There is no plan, just slash and burn.”
Richardson declined to speak to the Herald on Friday about her post, but included a statement from City Manager Jon Amundson.
“Ms. Richardson’s Facebook page is a personal page not hosted or sanctioned by the city of Richland,” he said.
Amundson went on to cite a U.S. Supreme Court case, Lindke v. Freed, which clarifies when social media posts by public officials fall under “government speech.” The city manager says that court has ruled that private pages, unless government sanctioned, don’t fall within those boundaries and can limit comments.
“There is no evidence here that Ms. Richardson’s posts or comments were made on behalf of the city of Richland or at the direction of a majority of council. Instead, Ms. Richardson’s personal Facebook page is and historically has been used primarily for personal matters and interests,” he said.
Misty Muchlinski, chair of the Benton County Democrats, sent out a statement this week saying Richardson’s comments “overlook the wonderful makeup of our community, including the many hardworking federal employees who live and contribute to the local economy.”
“It’s critical that our elected leaders show unwavering support for all segments of the community, especially those who keep our nation running, and that includes advocating for their economic security and well being,” she said.
Central Washington Congressman Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, said this week that he had “concerns that the unintended consequences of these workforce reductions will have long-lasting implications at Hanford, PNNL and (Bonneville Power Administration).”
Richardson was first elected to the Richland City Council in 2021. She overwhelmingly won reelection to her seat in 2023, and was selected by the council the following year to serve as mayor.
This story was originally published February 22, 2025 at 1:24 PM.
