FOR MANY IN THE US GOVERNMENT, THIS IS A TIME FOR FEAR

…Draining the Swamp, with alligators in the Cabinet

 

The Congress has resurrected the 1886 Holman Rule that permits firing government employees for “no cause at all.”

 

I wonder how the president would feel if he were a long-term US Government intelligence employee, a truly non-partisan government worker, how would he feel about the newly sworn president comparing the American intelligence communities to Nazi Germany?

 

Yes, the president did visit the CIA on his 1^st day as POTUS, but with this president, that was probably more for his ego than it was in getting an up-date on intelligence issues.

 

The president has since said he intends to visit the other agencies, but the discretionary spending budget was released this week and it shows that there are going to be a lot of former government workers in either early retirement, or standing in the unemployment line very soon.

 

I guess Trump’s “Jobs, jobs and more jobs”, doesn’t apply to the slowest ever developing new administration in replacing all those critical government positions in the Capital.

 

No, I’m not naïve.  I know that there is always a certain amount of unnecessary employees in every government agency.  Yes, all areas of government could be more efficient.

But when we were told that the new president was going to “Drain the Swamp” in DC, most of us didn’t think that meant putting a bunch of dedicated career government employees out of work, while filling his Cabinet positions with unqualified billionaires.  Trump is now touting his appointed Cabinet officials as the “Greatest Cabinet ever created”.  How can that be when they have yet to do anything of note, and many of them still haven’t even turned in all the disclosure forms that are required for all cabinet members.

 

It was disgusting when the Press Secretary, Sean Spicer made the following condescending statement: “The president continues to be humbled by the people who serve this nation and the work that they do so many times, without the proper recognition for the sacrifices that they make.”  He should have added, “But they won’t have to worry now, as they will be having to find work elsewhere.”

 

The president’s many visits to the various agencies is not going to do anything that would take away the fear and angst of today across the whole federal work force, and not just those in the intelligence agencies.  The new Trump administration has now vowed to freeze all government hiring, while the House Republicans have now reinstated the old, outdated, Holman Rule.

 

This 1886 rule was named after Indiana Representative William S. Holman.  It was initially used to eliminate patronage positions prior to the establishment of a merit-based government employment system. It was also used for targeted cuts to, and caps on, the number of and salary of all federal employees, though its use has been very rare in modern times.  It was actually removed in 1983 due to objections from the then Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill.  But today, it is back and very much, alive and well.

 

For those government employees today, the reinstated rule will allow Congress to cut the pay of individual workers, and their legislation would permit firing them for “no cause at all.”

 

But yes, there are those in the government that think that this is a very good idea. 

 

“I hope that the bureaucratic red tape and overgrowth will get a severe pruning under Trump,” said a former female Defense Department staff member. “If done correctly, it will end with more, not less, effective government.”  (You will notice that this is from a “former” Defense Dept. member that won’t be losing her job.)

 

“Although I’m not a Trump supporter, I do agree with a few of the proposed initiatives relative to reducing the federal workforce,” said a retired former federal employee, “Recently retired, I have personally witnessed a lot of waste and abuse when it comes to federal resources.”  (Again, more hind-sight from a “recently retired” government employee.)

 

Life always looks different when being observed from the other side of the street.

 

For too many in government, this is a time of fear and anxiety.  I would suspect that whatever efficiency that was going on in the nation's bureaucracies, the fear of losing their jobs has cut that efficiency at least in half.

And it’s not just the government employees that are being cut.  Trump’s proposed budget cuts are cutting the government financial support for the “Meals-On-Wheels” program for senior Americans.  This cut is happening to our seniors, while the first month’s cost of Trump’s travel to his Florida home on the weekends, and the security of the president and his family, that monthly cost was more than that of Obama’s travel and his family’s security for one full year!

 

One Washington Post writer that normally covers the federal government has written: “Never have I received comments filled with the kind of fright expressed by those who have written to me since Trump’s inauguration.”

 

Trump’s history of racist statements, most notably his “birther campaign” to undermine Barack Obama’s presidency, it and his budget cuts are now casting a disgusting shadow over the entire government.

 

One federal employee that doesn’t feel that their job is on the block has stated, “Maybe some of those who are on their way out the door might be willing to go out on a limb and fight, but those of us who have some time to go are concerned about the basic McCarthyism that is apparent in the new administration. With the revival of the Holman rule, it’s apparent that free speech isn’t free for us in the government.”

 

One 32-year federal supervisor has offered her experience with another supervisor seeking assistance who had stated: “Most of my employees are people of color: Hispanic, Asian, African American,” she said. “His reason for firing the employees boiled down to the fact that he didn’t like blacks. I have never, in my career, known of someone using that reason as a manager. There’s no doubt in my mind where that came from.  It came from the top.”

 

A retired federal firefighter from Terrebonne, OR., said he worries that under Trump, “the federal government will be sabotaged and weakened to the point of being incapable of providing any social resilience in times of crisis.”

 

The National President of Blacks in Government, is concerned that “Trump’s plan to further downsize the federal government, an area where Blacks make up nearly 20% of the federal workforce, will have a severe impact on Black Americans who are already struggling for economic security and advancement against racism, disparate treatment and favoritism.”

 

As you can see, Trump’s racist views that were displayed against the former black president have now gone viral, and it is expected that the budget cuts in reality, will affect the black community much more than the white government employees.

 

Others in positions to interact with top administration officials spoke cautiously about federal life under Trump.  The president and chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service stated: “My hope is that the new administration will see the civil service as an ally in delivering better government to the American people.”

 

But the President of the American Federation of Government Employees, once a harsh critic of Trump, is not happy with Trump’s Cabinet appointees, however he takes a wait-and-see approach to the new administration: “I’m not sure what to expect.”

 

But based on how Trump has criticized all federal judges, calling one of them a “so called judge”, leave it to a retired Justice Department lawyer, after 34 years of federal service, he has wished the American people well, under the Trump administration, with this final dig at the president and his Cabinet: “As for the federal workforce, it’s hard to soar with the Eagles when you are required to serve Turkeys.”

 

Copyright G.Ater  2017