Action: Support a rule change that would minimize appointees in the federal civil service

[petra]

ellen_fremedon:
The US Office of Personnel Management has issued a rule to neuter Schedule F, Trump’s executive order that would allow him to convert career officials into political appointees, meaning he can force them to choose between being fired and serving an authoritarian agenda. This is a very big deal. Authoritarians consolidate power by removing the independence of the bureaucracy...

More by ellen_fremedon: Today is the LAST DAY for public comment! They really do read these comments, and they do have an effect on federal rule-making. You can comment online HERE. You don't need to be an expert. You can include any information you want to, but all you need to say is that you support the proposed rule and oppose Schedule F.

There's a lot more information at this substack post from a public policy scholar at Georgetown, including the complete draft of his comment if you want to crib any language.

If you're in the U.S., please do this yet today! It takes five minutes.

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I am strongly in favor of the proposed rule change by the Office of Personnel Management to uphold the apolitical nature of civil service employees in the federal government. The government's ability to continue between presidential administrations without complete upheaval depends on its experienced employees' ability to continue in their jobs regardless of which party was in power when they took them, and regardless of their personal political beliefs. I am certain that people who choose to go into public service hold positions as polarized, if not more so, as the rest of the country's political stances. However, the vast majority of those employees' privately held convictions do not and should not affect their ability to serve their country and support its laws. It is not in the best interest of the American public to replace any more federal employees via appointment than is absolutely necessary. As few jobs as possible should be held by people who serve the official who appointed them rather than the citizens of this country.

Comments

[mellowtigger]

Thanks for the note. I added my own personal comment with the required ID number. The proposed change included very good documentation. I had to go look up Trump's executive order that it was citing as cause for this change. "Faithful execution of the law requires that the President have appropriate management oversight regarding this select cadre of professionals." *shudder*

[petra]

Thanks for commenting!

[nyctanthes]

Thanks for the heads up. I posted a comment.

[petra]

Thank you!

[chestnut_pod]

Left a comment! Thanks.

[petra]

Thank you!