Federal employees who feel they must watch their words and suppress their opinions will become less forthcoming, less forward-thinking, and less inclined to act on their own initiative.
This week, President Donald Trump made a significant move to bring the federal workforce under partisan control. He signed an executive order that removes job protections from 8,000 civil servants working in policy-related roles. The directive identifies specific senior management and advisory positions across various agencies that will now fall under direct White House authority going forward.
This presidential action broke a long-standing tradition that both Republicans and Democrats had honored since the Pendleton Act of 1883 created the federal civil service system. For over a century, both parties agreed on the fundamental idea of having nonpartisan career civil servants who could provide honest counsel to those in power, no matter which party held office.
The reasoning behind the civil service system is to maintain skilled, consistent government operations based on merit, particularly during presidential transitions. During these periods, experienced career officials brief newly appointed political leaders on their daily duties and the obstacles their agencies face both internally and externally. Senior civil servants frequently step into acting roles until the Senate confirms permanent political appointees.
However, the president has never been a supporter of career professionals. His administration did not send representatives to a recent government excellence event held each year by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. The formal awards ceremony honors Service to America Medals, known as Sammies, which are considered the federal workforce’s equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscars, recognizing outstanding career employees. Former presidents Bush and Biden sent video messages of congratulations. Later during the event, author Michael Lewis humorously referred to the current president as “he who must not be named.”
The president has never demonstrated much respect for the more than two million workers who keep his administration running. When he first entered the White House in 2016, he had no experience in public service. Politically, he adopted the “deep state” conspiracy theory, claiming that the bureaucracy had been taken over by far-left operatives. On a personal level, he openly dismissed the briefing materials and knowledge provided as nearly worthless. Their focus on following proper procedures frustrated him. While other Republicans directed their criticism at the civil service system’s flaws, Trump aimed his attacks directly at the civil servants themselves.
A Trump executive order from October 2020, which the incoming Biden administration quickly overturned, foreshadowed his current campaign to reshape the federal workforce. Upon returning to the White House in 2025, the president immediately restored the order, giving the White House final authority over senior career employees in policy positions. This time, he acted with the backing of a popular vote majority, complete dominance of the Republican party, a cooperative cabinet and White House staff, and an overwhelming sense of resentment.
Controlling hiring decisions went alongside efforts to shrink the federal workforce. Private sector figure Elon Musk put together a group of software engineers to cut budgets and reduce staff. Russell Vought, a knowledgeable Washington insider, led the effort as director of the Office of Management and Budget. A network of 100 conservative groups contributed a 925-page blueprint called Project 2025, designed to transform the federal government.
The federal workforce gave way rapidly. Executive orders that bypassed standard procedures successfully reduced the number of federal employees and intimidated those who stayed. Approximately 350,000 civil servants departed within a year, driven out by a combination of pressure and early retirement incentives. The administration celebrated this as the largest reduction of the federal workforce since World War II, claiming it as a major political victory.
The White House has overlooked the price of this achievement. The departure of 95,000 workers in technical areas, including 10,000 individuals with Ph.D.s, has weakened public health, information technology, scientific research, and engineering capabilities throughout the government. However, statistics alone cannot measure the full worth of the experience, expertise, and specialized abilities that have been lost. Regarding employee morale, the administration has not carried out required surveys of federal workers, but unofficial polls reveal a workforce that has never felt more demoralized.
President Trump may have misjudged his assault on America’s tradition of federal public service, just as he underestimated the Iranian regime’s durability and the pushback against his takeover of the Kennedy Center and other national symbols in Washington. The coalition of federal employee unions challenging Trump’s restructuring of the civil service has public opinion on their side. Based on 2025 survey results, 83% of Americans believe that a skilled and nonpartisan federal workforce is essential to the nation’s welfare.
Americans will suffer if the White House succeeds. Federal employees who feel they must watch their words and suppress their opinions will become less forthcoming, less forward-thinking, and less inclined to act on their own initiative. Such a workplace will not draw in, develop, or keep the top performers who earn Sammies.
The next Congress cannot stay uninvolved when faced with a power grab that undermines government effectiveness. The legislative branch has the power to prevent or alter executive branch regulations concerning federal employees. A one-sided attempt to safeguard nonpartisan public service will not succeed. Congress must unite to defend the national interest.
John Yochelson, the former president of the Council on Competitiveness, is compiling and editing a collection of personal accounts from high-performing federal workers to help the public connect with their experiences. He is the author of Loving and Leaving Washington: Reflections on Public Service.
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