Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Laurie Garrett: How Trump could undermine Fauci and remake the US government
CNN(CNN)While many Americans were looking ahead to the final presidential debate earlier this week, President Donald Trump was signing an executive order the likes of which has never been seen in a democracy. It is an edict expected under a dictatorship, a banana republic or a military regime. And it appears to stifle the President's opponents within the government, posing a particular danger should it affect policymakers who are working tirelessly to fight the Covid-19 epidemic.
Under the order, which undermines the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act — a law that came into effect in 1883 to ensure government employees were hired based on merit and protected from political retribution — an estimated 100,000 or more will see their jobs reclassified from "competitive service" to "excepted service."
Under this bureaucratic sleight of hand, a reclassified federal employee engaged, for example, in setting policies for social distancing on public transit systems during the pandemic would have fewer protections from disagreements with the White House. By removing the word "competitive" and replacing it with "excepted," the order eliminates the employee's ability to appeal a dismissal and lumps him or her among political appointees — essentially serving at the pleasure of the President.
While the White House claims the "Executive Order on Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service" would allow government to "operate more efficiently," it would also give a second-term Trump leeway to fire civil servants for being disloyal and fill government positions with his cronies, while giving him more sway on policies ranging from vaccine safety to flight inspection standards.
Under the order, which undermines the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act — a law that came into effect in 1883 to ensure government employees were hired based on merit and protected from political retribution — an estimated 100,000 or more will see their jobs reclassified from "competitive service" to "excepted service."
Under this bureaucratic sleight of hand, a reclassified federal employee engaged, for example, in setting policies for social distancing on public transit systems during the pandemic would have fewer protections from disagreements with the White House. By removing the word "competitive" and replacing it with "excepted," the order eliminates the employee's ability to appeal a dismissal and lumps him or her among political appointees — essentially serving at the pleasure of the President.
While the White House claims the "Executive Order on Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service" would allow government to "operate more efficiently," it would also give a second-term Trump leeway to fire civil servants for being disloyal and fill government positions with his cronies, while giving him more sway on policies ranging from vaccine safety to flight inspection standards.
10 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
