President Donald Trump submitted an alternative pay plan to Congress on Friday that would give most federal employees a 1% pay raise in 2026, while some federal law enforcement employees would receive a 3.8% pay raise.
If enacted, the pay raise would be the smallest since 2021, when President Trump also directed a 1% pay increase for all federal civilian employees.
However, the 2026 pay plan directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to determine which categories of law enforcement personnel will receive the 3.8% pay raise – in line with the pay increase military personnel will receive in 2026.
President Trump said that the 3.8% pay increase is meant to “increase recruitment and retention in critical law enforcement roles and to ensure our great Federal law enforcement officers are treated fairly.”
“Starting September 2, 2025, OPM shall consult with executive departments and agencies to identify the categories of law enforcement personnel that will be eligible for this pay increase,” the president wrote.
The pay adjustment will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, or the first day of the first applicable pay period, President Trump said.
Without the alternative pay plan, President Trump said that locality pay “would increase an average of 18.88 percent, costing $24 billion in the first year alone. This change would go into effect in January 2026 along with an additional 3.3 percent across-the-board increase for the base General Schedule.”
President Trump’s proposed pay raise will likely become official, as Congress has not proposed an alternate pay raise in the appropriations process – effectively backing Trump’s proposal. The pay raise is not official until President Trump signs an executive order enacting it, which typically happens in late December.
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) called the 1% pay raise “meager” and “not enough” to narrow the 24.72% pay gap between federal employees and their private sector counterparts.
“At the very least, the planned 3.8 percent average increase for military and federal law enforcement should be extended to all federal employees,” NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald said in a statement to MeriTalk.
“Even better, NTEU has endorsed legislation that would give all federal employees an average 4.3 percent raise next year, and we will continue to urge Congress to override the president’s below-market raise and give all federal employees a fair increase in January,” Greenwald said.