(2018-08-10) — On a 92-6 vote the Senate Wednesday approved an across-the-board pay increase for federal employees in 2019, ignoring President Donald Trump’s call for merit-based pay that would reward performance, instead of mere longevity. Most Republicans supported the general pay hike rather than what one called “Trump’s soft bigotry of high expectations.”

“Pay for government bureaucrats must remain competitive with that of unaccountable employees in the private sector, or we’ll have a hard time luring them to D.C.,” said an unnamed Republican Senator. “Not everyone is cut out for the tedium and lack of accountability required for government service. Those who do qualify are already coasting in cubicles below their boss’ radar in large corporations.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, said GOP Senators came to Washington to stand up for “the forgotten man.”

“In this case,” McConnell said, “that means increasing the pay of people who’ve been forgotten even by their own government supervisors.”