Trump's newest executive order could prove one of his most insidious
Opinion by Editorial Board
PRESIDENT TRUMPS newest executive order, signed without fanfare this week, could prove one of his most insidious.
The directive from the White House, issued late Wednesday, sounds technical: creating a new Schedule F within the excepted service of the federal government for employees in policymaking roles, and directing agencies to determine who qualifies. Its implications, however, are profound and alarming. It gives those in power the authority to fire more or less at will as many as tens of thousands of workers currently in the competitive civil service, from managers to lawyers to economists to, yes, scientists. This weeks order is a major salvo in the presidents onslaught against the cadre of dedicated civil servants whom he calls the deep state and who are really the greatest strength of the U.S. government.
The administration grounds its action in the need to rid itself of poor performers. Certainly, theres room for reform to the cumbersome process required to remove those who fall short of standards. But this presidents criteria for determining satisfactory performance begin and end with personal loyalty. The White House admitted last winter to seeking to purge from payrolls those deemed insufficiently reliable the bad people, in Mr. Trumps words. The protections for career civil servants currently in place at least put some roadblocks on that path, hence this legally dubious plan to erase those protections with a touch of organizational sleight of hand. Not only will politically motivated firing become easier, but it will also be easier to hire those who meet Mr. Trumps standards: obsequiousness and, more often than not, a lack of qualifications. With no competitive process in place, leaders can appoint whom they please or rather, who pleases them.
The order is so vaguely written it is unclear exactly who would fall into the category it conjures up. It is clear, though, that the targets are the cream of the civil service crop precisely those who have frustrated the administration in its attempts to impose its agenda over ethics, evidence and good sense. Think of the Federal Aviation Administration employee evaluating whether an airliner is safe to fly, or the federal prosecutor deciding in a sensitive case whether to seek an indictment. Think of the Food and Drug Administration employee evaluating the efficacy of a vaccine.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-newest-executive-order-could-prove-one-of-his-most-insidious/2020/10/23/c8223cac-1561-11eb-bc10-40b25382f1be_story.html
msongs
(67,357 posts)magicarpet
(14,119 posts)trDumpie don't need no oversight.
TheRealNorth
(9,470 posts)He changed the classification of a bunch of positions to political appointments.
Then, when he lost in 2018, he signed a law written by the Republican legislature to protect those appointees when Ever's took office.
When Republican's talk about the "Deep State", again they are projecting their goal.
Kablooie
(18,608 posts)If he loses he can fire thousands of career Federal employees and replace them with loyal Trump toadies to sabotage the government.
When Biden finally takes control he will be confronted with thousands of incompetent Federal employees who will defy him.
As expected, Trump will leave with as much destruction in his wake as he can manage.
moof
(3,390 posts)this among numerous other items seem way beyond the eyesight of the people running the show in this administration. So who is this administrations Dick Cheney ? Is Karl Rove phoning these dirty tricks in ?