White House Concealed Finding That OPM Merger was Illegal, Report Says

[James48]

White House Concealed Finding That OPM Merger was Illegal, Report Says

COURTNEY BUBLÉ | JUNE 24, 2020

The Justice Department reportedly determined last year that a White House plan to dismantle the Office of Personnel Management was illegal—information the White House withheld from Congress while moving ahead with the plan anyway.

The watchdog group Project on Government Oversight published an investigation in The Daily Beast on Wednesday that documented a previously undisclosed conference call with senior administration officials in April 2019 in which the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel rejected the Trump administration's plans to abolish OPM and transfer most of its functions to the General Services Administration. This legal opinion––which the administration denies exists––contradicts White House assertions over the last 14 months regarding the administration’s justifications for restructuring the system for managing federal employees.

“It is depressing that the administration covered up a clear legal opinion by the Department of Justice finding that its plan to dismember and dissolve OPM was unlawful,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told Government Executive. Raskin is one of several lawmakers who for months have demanded legal justification for the administration’s efforts to abolish OPM. “Trump officials did everything they could to bury this fact and repeatedly dodged my questions in our oversight hearing about the dubious legal authority for its ridiculous proposal. These people have no respect for the rule of law or the truth, and their reputations lie in tatters along with the reputation of Donald Trump,” he said.

More: https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2020/06/white-house-concealed-finding-opm-merger-was-illegal-report-says/166411/

[underpants]

1. This has JaRED written all over it

Restructuring government

[montanacowboy]

2. Oh Great

I can't wait for my records to get all fucked up. GSA? are you kidding me? OPM was great, how can they just get away with this shit, why doesn't anyone do anything? I am beyond, just beyond

[AnnaLee]

3. The attack on the civil service is unrelenting. From GovExec today:

In the memo, Sherk suggested that the White House should examine a so-called “Constitutional option,” a legal theory that the president has power through Article II to dismiss any federal employee for any reason.

“This implies civil service legislation and union contracts impeding that authority are unconstitutional,” he wrote. “If so, the president could issue an executive order outlining a streamlined new process for dismissing federal employees. This would facilitate the swift removal of poor performers.”

More: https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/06/white-house-advisor-sought-legal-opinion-trump-can-fire-anyone-government/166445/

Note the "for any reason" above (bolding is mine).

[littlemissmartypants]

4. Jesus. The hits just keep on coming. nt

[burrowowl]

5. Kick!

[slumcamper]

6. and...SO?

WHAT?

Nothing seems to matter. Accountability has fled....or, at the least, it is absent.

[uponit7771]

7. K&R, Can one imagine the looting going on right now in the White House