Trump’s order says that certain government workers ought to be much easier to fire — specifically, those in “positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character.”
Having grown up during the days of Richard J. Daley, I recognize this. It was Trump’s path to make the federal government into a patronage machine. Trump only knows one system: jobs for favors. It wasn’t so much about ideology, as about eliminating the remaining checks on making the government his wholly owned enterprise.
Now the same plan is being revived to a different end: salting the earth before the Biden administration takes over.
You argue both that Trump could fire existing employees based on lack of loyalty and also that Biden firing “burrowers” would amount to a prohibited personnel practice.
It totally makes sense for the federal personnel revisions. Our economy and income disparity are looking like the 1920s again… we’re wading through a global pandemic like the 1920s… racism has become ascendant in our country like the 1920s… so why not make more of the federal workforce part of the political spoils system again?
I think his crew has done an outstanding job of putting out a blueprint for what plutocrats need done to remove any oversight by the hoi polloi. It might not all, or even much, take effect this time, but it is definitely something to stay vigilant for in the future.
It’s my understanding no actual action can take place until May (210 days after the order) despite the initial review, so Biden can just get rid of this idiotic directive all together.
Sec. 5. Agency Actions. (a) Each head of an executive agency (as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, but excluding the Government Accountability Office) shall conduct, within 90 days of the date of this order, a preliminary review of agency positions covered by subchapter II of chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, and shall conduct a complete review of such positions within 210 days of the date of this order. Thereafter, each agency head shall conduct a review of agency positions covered by subchapter II of chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code, on at least an annual basis. Following such reviews each agency head shall:
File this under they thought they would win and had plans for a massive blood-letting. At this point it seems impractical at best All Biden has to do is announce he will cancel the order on day 1 and reinstate anyone affected. There would be nothing to gain.
Burrowing is what people do who want job security. It’s not a good idea for would be saboteurs.
Why are we treating this like it’s permanent if he tries? Anyone Trump installs under this dubious shit can be fired on the 1/21, what’s good for the goose…
This is what Trump has left, to make a mess of what he found when he got there. I believe that Donald J. Trump has caused everyone he has ever come into contact with a headache. Oy vey!
This change can be immediately reversed by President Biden, and anyone fired can be rehired. Prior to President Biden reversing the rule, however, he should fire all Trump appointees.
In October, Trump directed agencies to provide preliminary lists of Schedule F positions within 90 days of his executive order — that is, by Jan. 19, the day before Joe Biden’s inauguration. But the political leadership of some agencies are rushing to get their work done early.
Here’s an idea, and I’m just spitballing here…DON’T FUCKING DO IT AT ALL. Or fuck it up by misspelling all the names and assigning wrong employee IDs and all that. Oops! Computer mistake, we’ll get it corrected in the next few days…
No Trumpsters would wake up though. First, they are cultists and impervious to non-Trump anything. Second, anyone fired is just a liberal Communist Anti-American Traitor Deep Stater anyway.
On the other hand imagine if this goes through and President Biden fires a single reclassified employee it will be Totally Unfair and be all over Fox News and the rest.
Kind of sweet that Trump is leaving all these personnel powers to President Biden. It ought to help him to much out the stables of Trump’s “burrowed in” lickspittles, before rescinding it.
