Trump order could spark mass firings of civil servants, lawmakers warn

If Trump is successful, it would likely lead to government agencies being less able to respond to problems like Covid as needed, and the general public would not understand what happened, and will blame whoever is president then.  Another of the many cases of Trump taking action that harms our country.

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-order-could-spark-mass-215618309.html

Reuters

Andrea Shalal

Wed, November 25, 2020, 4:56 PM EST

 

U.S. government civil servants could face mass firings under an October executive order before President Donald Trump leaves office and Democratic lawmakers, watchdog groups and unions are mobilizing to block the move.

Leaders of 23 House committees and subcommittees asked the heads of 61 federal departments and agencies to provide a "full accounting" of any plans to reclassify federal workers under the Oct. 21 order, leaving them vulnerable to firing.

They also asked for details about any Trump political appointees who have already been hired into career jobs or are being considered. Initial responses are due Dec. 9, followed by biweekly updates, according to the letter, spearheaded by Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney.


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Critics call the move part of an ongoing assault on government bureaucracy that has drained expertise and skills during the Trump administration.

Creating the new category of federal workers would expose the civil service to "undue political influence and intimidation," the committee chairs warned in their letter.

In Tuesday's letter, Democrats said the order would "expedite the hiring of political appointees into jobs without regard to merit and place them in roles best served by career civil servants — including economists, scientists, and data analysts."

House and Senate Democrats separately asked the nonpartisan congressional Government Accountability Office this week to monitor implementation of the order, warning it could result in "a mass exodus" of federal employees in coming weeks.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has requested to reclassify 88% of its workforce of 425 workers to the new category, Real Clear Politics reported this week.

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Biden has already pledged to rescind other executive orders targeting federal workers once he takes office.

But any move to root out Trump loyalists could run afoul of a ban on firing people for partisan affiliation - the one civil service protection the order left intact for Schedule F workers.