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House rejects Trump plot to oust civil servants
U.S. House Democrats and a handful of Republicans on Thursday rejected former President Donald Trump's plot to oust civil servants by passing the Preventing a Patronage System Act.
"The civil servants who make up our federal workforce are the engine that keeps our federal government running," said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the bill's sponsor. "We rely on their experience and expertise to provide every basic government service—from delivering the mail to helping families in the wake of natural disasters."
"The former president's attempt to remove qualified experts and replace them with political loyalists (lackies) threatened our national security and our government's ability to function the way the American people expect it to. Expertise, not fealty, must define our civil service," he added.
Link to tweet
Connolly, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Reform's government operations panel, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) introduced H.R. 302 in response to Trump's executive order to establish a new Schedule F category of federal employees who are easier to fire.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/house-rejects-trump-plot-to-oust-civil-servants/ar-AA11TFj1
Prior to Civil Service they had what was known as "The spoils system". The name came from the phrase, "To the victor the spoils."
Government jobs were held by the elected politicians' friends. These people were often unqualified.
14 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
SNAP, Medicare, & Social Security, too.
Be Fucking Aware VOTERS!
GOTV For Dems 2022 & 2024!!
He had almost 88% of OMB all ready to switch before being dragged kicking and screaming out of office. 
On his 3rd day in office, President Biden revoked the 45 E.O. that created Schedule F -
Executive Order on Protecting the Federal Workforce
January 22, 2021 • Presidential Actions
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Career civil servants are the backbone of the Federal workforce, providing the expertise and experience necessary for the critical functioning of the Federal Government. It is the policy of the United States to protect, empower, and rebuild the career Federal workforce. It is also the policy of the United States to encourage union organizing and collective bargaining. The Federal Government should serve as a model employer.
Sec. 2. Revocation of Schedule F. (a) The creation of a new Schedule F excepted service category in Executive Order 13957 of October 21, 2020 (Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service), not only was unnecessary to the conditions of good administration, but also undermined the foundations of the civil service and its merit system principles, which were essential to the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883’s repudiation of the spoils system. Accordingly, to enhance the efficiency of the civil service and to promote good administration and systematic application of merit system principles, Executive Order 13957 is hereby revoked.
(b) The heads of all executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall, consistent with law, immediately suspend, revise, or rescind proposed actions, decisions, petitions, rules, regulations or other guidance pursuant to, or to effectuate, Executive Order 13957. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shall immediately cease processing or granting any petitions that seek to convert positions to Schedule F or to create new positions in Schedule F.
(snip)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/22/executive-order-protecting-the-federal-workforce/
January 22, 2021 • Presidential Actions
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Career civil servants are the backbone of the Federal workforce, providing the expertise and experience necessary for the critical functioning of the Federal Government. It is the policy of the United States to protect, empower, and rebuild the career Federal workforce. It is also the policy of the United States to encourage union organizing and collective bargaining. The Federal Government should serve as a model employer.
Sec. 2. Revocation of Schedule F. (a) The creation of a new Schedule F excepted service category in Executive Order 13957 of October 21, 2020 (Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service), not only was unnecessary to the conditions of good administration, but also undermined the foundations of the civil service and its merit system principles, which were essential to the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883’s repudiation of the spoils system. Accordingly, to enhance the efficiency of the civil service and to promote good administration and systematic application of merit system principles, Executive Order 13957 is hereby revoked.
(b) The heads of all executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall, consistent with law, immediately suspend, revise, or rescind proposed actions, decisions, petitions, rules, regulations or other guidance pursuant to, or to effectuate, Executive Order 13957. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shall immediately cease processing or granting any petitions that seek to convert positions to Schedule F or to create new positions in Schedule F.
(snip)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/22/executive-order-protecting-the-federal-workforce/
Article from last month -
Senate Dems Have Joined the Push to Block Schedule F
As Republican groups discuss plans to reinstitute the controversial plan to strip tens of thousands of federal workers of their civil service protections, congressional Democrats have renewed their efforts to block it.
August 2, 2022
(snip)
In recent weeks, former White House aides from the Trump administration unveiled plans to immediately reinstitute Schedule F the next time a Republican is president. Schedule F was an ill-fated plan to find and reclassify the positions of tens of thousands of career federal workers in “policy-related” roles outside of the competitive service, stripping them of their civil service protections and making it much easier to hire and fire them. Trump, who is mulling another campaign for president, seemingly endorsed the plan in a speech last week.
Those involved in the effort to revive Schedule F have said they have already identified 50,000 federal employees who could be fired under the proposed new authority, although they hope terminating a fraction of that number would create a “chilling effect” to keep the rest in line. And last week, a group of conservative Republicans introduced legislation that would make all federal workers at-will employees.
Democrats in the House passed Rep. Gerry Connolly’s bill, the Preventing a Patronage System Act, as part of the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act last month. And on Tuesday, a group of Democratic senators, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced identical legislation. Senate appropriators also included a ban on Schedule F as part of its Financial Service and General Government spending bill.
The legislation, which is also sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both D-Md., prevents any position in the competitive service from being reclassified to Schedule F, and bars the president from creating new job classifications without congressional approval in advance.
(snip)
https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2022/08/senate-dems-join-push-block-schedule-f/375221/
As Republican groups discuss plans to reinstitute the controversial plan to strip tens of thousands of federal workers of their civil service protections, congressional Democrats have renewed their efforts to block it.
August 2, 2022
(snip)
In recent weeks, former White House aides from the Trump administration unveiled plans to immediately reinstitute Schedule F the next time a Republican is president. Schedule F was an ill-fated plan to find and reclassify the positions of tens of thousands of career federal workers in “policy-related” roles outside of the competitive service, stripping them of their civil service protections and making it much easier to hire and fire them. Trump, who is mulling another campaign for president, seemingly endorsed the plan in a speech last week.
Those involved in the effort to revive Schedule F have said they have already identified 50,000 federal employees who could be fired under the proposed new authority, although they hope terminating a fraction of that number would create a “chilling effect” to keep the rest in line. And last week, a group of conservative Republicans introduced legislation that would make all federal workers at-will employees.
Democrats in the House passed Rep. Gerry Connolly’s bill, the Preventing a Patronage System Act, as part of the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act last month. And on Tuesday, a group of Democratic senators, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced identical legislation. Senate appropriators also included a ban on Schedule F as part of its Financial Service and General Government spending bill.
The legislation, which is also sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both D-Md., prevents any position in the competitive service from being reclassified to Schedule F, and bars the president from creating new job classifications without congressional approval in advance.
(snip)
https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2022/08/senate-dems-join-push-block-schedule-f/375221/
