What the Last Four Weeks have Wrought

Max Stier reminds us of the damage done to the federal workforce and the cost we will pay

By Max Stier

President Trump’s slash-and-burn approach to shrinking the federal workforce—along with decisions to halt critical activities at numerous agencies—will not make America great again, but it will strip the government of expertise, rob it of the capacity to respond to public needs, and make our nation less secure at home and abroad.

Yes, the government should be reformed, but this is not what Trump (along with billionaire Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency) is doing.

Instead, they are gutting agencies created and funded by Congress that they don’t like, such as the U.S. Agency for Internal Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; halting the work at entities such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that don’t fit their ideology; deep-sixing important government programs and services; and putting in motion plans to fire tens of thousands of civil servants across the country regardless of their strengths, expertise, or the public need.

Trump is simultaneously weakening the government’s anti-corruption infrastructure—with employees at the Department of Justice and the FBI considered disloyal being removed or sidelined and replaced with political acolytes who are poised to punish the president’s detractors and perceived enemies—and summarily firing those in charge of government oversight, such as inspectors general and the head of the Office of Government Ethics.

Moreover, Trump has issued an executive order that—if put into operation—would allow him to not only fire merit-based career civil servants without the benefit of any due process rights but also to replace them with loyal political appointees.

All these actions would take the country back to the 1830s and the presidency of Andrew Jackson, who endorsed a “spoils system” that awarded federal jobs to partisans rather than qualified professionals. The result was a corrupt and ineffective system that spiraled out of control in 1881 when a disgruntled individual who was denied a federal job assassinated President James Garfield, leading to the passage of the law creating merit-based hiring systems that is now under assault.

While many of the administration’s actions have been challenged in the courts a(nd in some cases placed on temporary hold) the speed and recklessness of the destruction is breathtaking; the consequences long-lasting. What's worse, you, taxpayers, will be footing the legal bills and damages as government lawyers seek to defend what in most instances should be indefensible.

The impact on the American public will be widespread, affecting areas such as our national security, public health, food safety, airport screenings, weather forecasts, care for veterans, assistance to farmers, student and small business loans, special education programs, scientific research, tax processing and so much more.

The indiscriminate job reductions are also creating personal trauma for our nation’s civil servants who live and work in communities all across the country. About 80% of the roughly 2 million federal employees are located outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, meaning these cuts will be felt in communities nationwide, including in states like Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania—each home to tens of thousands of federal workers. In addition, about 30% of the federal workforce are veterans, meaning those who have served our country in two vital ways will also be needlessly harmed.

The rationale for slashing the federal workforce appears to be aimed at limiting the role of government, but also at taming the so-called “deep state,” the career civil servants who the president and his most fervent allies claim are embedded within the bureaucracy and poised to undermine the administration’s policy agenda.

The sad irony is that Trump’s purge of merit-based career professionals and his desire to stuff the workforce with loyal appointees will go a long way toward creating the kind of deep state that he rails against, creating a government solely responsive to his political whims rather than the larger responsibilities to the Constitution, the law, and the public.

Our government is our country’s only institution for collective action in a complex, risky and increasingly dangerous world, and we need dedicated and competent civil servants—as well as a series of reforms to help make our government better. These reforms include improving hiring and talent retention policies, requiring greater accountability, better leadership development, greater use of technology and upgraded customer service.

Unfortunately, Trump’s plan to fire many public servants and muzzle those who remain will have destructive consequences for federal employees, of course. But it will also place the nation in jeopardy while shoving further afield the goal of a better, more effective government.

This is a time of crisis. In other words, it is not one for complacency. Civil servants need to be supported, Congress must step up and protect our constitutional system and the rule of law, and the public needs to engage to help hold to account those who are seeking to destroy our government.

Max Stier is president and CEO of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, an organization focused on building a better government and a stronger democracy.