The regime's politicization of the civil service will have horrifying consequences for years to come. Soon, with Trump loyalists' fingers on the scales, government reports like GDP, employment, or inflation will no longer be credible. Our fiscal planning will be effectively rudderless.
Politicians have always disliked the civil service. Feds can't be threatened with firing for refusing to do someone's political hatchet work (or they couldn't be). And politicians have always wanted to fire them to give their jobs to friends, relatives, and supporters.
I am concerned that government reports are already not credible. Many competent people have been fired. Those who remain are fearful, with good reason, that they will also be fired if they report anything that Trump doesn't like.
Exactly. Every word Trump says is a lie. None of his Cabinet lackeys is credible. The fish is rotting from the head. None of the statistics issued by this maladministration can be taken seriously.
I was just trying to find comparative statistics on FFOTUS's immigration/deportation claims, and Google AI told me there's no exact data available.
What a shitshow.
"Contrasting Figures: While the Department of Homeland Security claimed 135,000 removals in the first 100 days, TRAC reported that the actual number was closer to 72,000, with some experts expressing skepticism about the administration's initial claim of 100,000 deportations since January 20."
The civil servants that do quit are upholding their integrity to the oath and the job they took. I cannot blame any of them for quitting if they were asked to deviate from the standard method of carrying out their responsibilities as government employees. I totally agree that they should not leave quietly. They should document everything that they were instructed to do that totally breaks normal procedure and protocol especially those who work for any department within the authority of HHS. When other talented individuals are aware of what everyone has been put through it might just be difficult to replace those that departed. Potential savvy employees keep up and stay in the loop with their friends and counterparts on how their colleagues are treated at work and they will not accept any BS from a corrupt administration.
I am a retired Canadian public servant. Under a previous government I was ready to write my letter of resignation on a specific occasion; luckily, clearer heads prevailed and the issue that threatened to cross my red line went away, thanks to the intervention of senior officials. But had political imperatives persisted, my personal ethics and professional oaths as a lawyer and public servant would have left me no choice but to quit rather than implement what I was asked to do. If you don't have your integrity, how can you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning? I cannot for the life of me understand Trump's coterie of sycophants and congressional enablers and their willingness to lie, bend the knee, and break their promise to the American people - all for a convicted felon and patently unfit autocrat.
Serious question, as you are someone who has faced that decision. Why not continue to do your job properly, ignoring illegal or improper orders, and force them to fire you? And then take them to court if necessary? I realize that is a heavier lift, but why make it easy for them?
In my view, I would not have been "doing my job properly" if I had simply ignored the illegal order; its illegality had to be pointed out expressly and, if necessary, through a public resignation. That approach makes the matter one of standing on principle. Sitting quietly, not doing anything, and only speaking out when fired risks turning the issue into a "sour grapes" complaint by a disaffected employee - and would in fact be the approach that makes it easier for the issue to be swept under the table.
Everyone should read Octavia Butler's "Wildseed." For some, there comes a moment when enough is enough. They've tried. They've fought the good fight only to be beat up, raped, maligned in every possible way; psychologically and economically trounced ... repeatedly. What's a viable answer? Decide to stop participating. Go in the opposite direction of what's "normal." Sit down when you're expected to run. Have courage when you're supposed to cower in fear. Refuse to respond when you're supposed to be screaming in pain. ... And each person has their breaking point, that moment when enough is enough. Sometimes the best offense, the moment when WE WIN, is when we refuse to play by the rules, especially their rules.
Quitting may be the finest act of patriotism around right now, but it only underscores the tragedy taking place all over educational institutions, government, non-profits, law firms, anyplace with expertise, integrity, professionalism. As a former fed, I remain struck not just by the absurdity of the attack, but by the cruelty with which it is being done. People ordered to clear their desks in 30 minutes before being marched out the door, lives shattered, families and careers upended in moments.
Toynbee once wrote that great civilizations do not simply die on their own. Foreign invaders don't destroy them -- they first commit suicide from within. The barbarians just make it official.
For those who chose to leave, they are good, decent public servants. They are unwilling to compromise their principles and integrity to a political agenda, versus public service. I applaud them! Speaking out is not easy and being unemployed is never easy. They are exactly the ypes of people we want in public service!
I fear that as things deteriorate, as more programs are cut, the effects will slowly become obvious. Perhaps too slowly to generate enough pushback to be effective in stopping the demise of necessary and effective government services. Public resignations outlining reasons and dangers help sound the alarm early. Thank you, Ms Rubin, for writing about them. More journalists need to do the same.
What kind of house cleaning is going to be required when this loathsome administration is thrown in the dumpster? Will the next administration have to fire everyone hired in the next four years though Trump's shamelessly political hiring process? How will a working government serving the American people survive? ICE in particular... it seems like that agency will have to be demolished and reconstituted from the ground up. It appears irretrievable.
French saying (saying made by an ex-Belgian prime minister, Vanden Boeynants, a guy who would have been part of the GOP but surely not of the MAGA crowd)
"Quand tous les dégoûtés seront partis, il ne restera plus que les dégoûtants"
Translation:
When all those who are disgusted leave only the disgusting will be left.
Character, competence, courage and a sense of humanity. That is what each of these individuals who have resigned as a matter of conscience have in common. It is a complete juxtaposition to the characteristics embodied by the President and his ethically challenged administrative sycophants.
Federal worker household here. We refuse to let our livelihood and loyalty to America shown by working for the people to be snatched away for no cause by a man who has everything. The result is living and working with the daily stress of firing threats, loss of support staff, increased workload, more demands to prove the weeks' accomplishments that were all accomplished just fine without a confirming email, insinuations that we are lazy and disloyal, and the possibility of losing our home and other assets, not to mention the peaceful life we enjoyed before this all began.
It's a lot to ask of low-paid employees, isn't it? Quitting would be attractive were there not so much at stake for our democracy and our personal futures. The majority of Americans, civil servants included, live paycheck to paycheck. Donald Trump has never earned a paycheck let alone done the job of representing all Americans. He thinks talking on the phone and insulting people on social media is work.
The regime's politicization of the civil service will have horrifying consequences for years to come. Soon, with Trump loyalists' fingers on the scales, government reports like GDP, employment, or inflation will no longer be credible. Our fiscal planning will be effectively rudderless.
Politicians have always disliked the civil service. Feds can't be threatened with firing for refusing to do someone's political hatchet work (or they couldn't be). And politicians have always wanted to fire them to give their jobs to friends, relatives, and supporters.
I am concerned that government reports are already not credible. Many competent people have been fired. Those who remain are fearful, with good reason, that they will also be fired if they report anything that Trump doesn't like.
Exactly. Every word Trump says is a lie. None of his Cabinet lackeys is credible. The fish is rotting from the head. None of the statistics issued by this maladministration can be taken seriously.
I was just trying to find comparative statistics on FFOTUS's immigration/deportation claims, and Google AI told me there's no exact data available.
What a shitshow.
"Contrasting Figures: While the Department of Homeland Security claimed 135,000 removals in the first 100 days, TRAC reported that the actual number was closer to 72,000, with some experts expressing skepticism about the administration's initial claim of 100,000 deportations since January 20."
Republicans hate the civil service for the same reason they hate the USPS. It's one of the last strong unions.
Oh yeah, "To the victor belongs the spoils," according to the Jacksonian era.
The civil servants that do quit are upholding their integrity to the oath and the job they took. I cannot blame any of them for quitting if they were asked to deviate from the standard method of carrying out their responsibilities as government employees. I totally agree that they should not leave quietly. They should document everything that they were instructed to do that totally breaks normal procedure and protocol especially those who work for any department within the authority of HHS. When other talented individuals are aware of what everyone has been put through it might just be difficult to replace those that departed. Potential savvy employees keep up and stay in the loop with their friends and counterparts on how their colleagues are treated at work and they will not accept any BS from a corrupt administration.
I only hope they can maintain a decent income wherever they go until the Trump clown show blows itself up.
I am a retired Canadian public servant. Under a previous government I was ready to write my letter of resignation on a specific occasion; luckily, clearer heads prevailed and the issue that threatened to cross my red line went away, thanks to the intervention of senior officials. But had political imperatives persisted, my personal ethics and professional oaths as a lawyer and public servant would have left me no choice but to quit rather than implement what I was asked to do. If you don't have your integrity, how can you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning? I cannot for the life of me understand Trump's coterie of sycophants and congressional enablers and their willingness to lie, bend the knee, and break their promise to the American people - all for a convicted felon and patently unfit autocrat.
Serious question, as you are someone who has faced that decision. Why not continue to do your job properly, ignoring illegal or improper orders, and force them to fire you? And then take them to court if necessary? I realize that is a heavier lift, but why make it easy for them?
In my view, I would not have been "doing my job properly" if I had simply ignored the illegal order; its illegality had to be pointed out expressly and, if necessary, through a public resignation. That approach makes the matter one of standing on principle. Sitting quietly, not doing anything, and only speaking out when fired risks turning the issue into a "sour grapes" complaint by a disaffected employee - and would in fact be the approach that makes it easier for the issue to be swept under the table.
Everyone should read Octavia Butler's "Wildseed." For some, there comes a moment when enough is enough. They've tried. They've fought the good fight only to be beat up, raped, maligned in every possible way; psychologically and economically trounced ... repeatedly. What's a viable answer? Decide to stop participating. Go in the opposite direction of what's "normal." Sit down when you're expected to run. Have courage when you're supposed to cower in fear. Refuse to respond when you're supposed to be screaming in pain. ... And each person has their breaking point, that moment when enough is enough. Sometimes the best offense, the moment when WE WIN, is when we refuse to play by the rules, especially their rules.
Quitting may be the finest act of patriotism around right now, but it only underscores the tragedy taking place all over educational institutions, government, non-profits, law firms, anyplace with expertise, integrity, professionalism. As a former fed, I remain struck not just by the absurdity of the attack, but by the cruelty with which it is being done. People ordered to clear their desks in 30 minutes before being marched out the door, lives shattered, families and careers upended in moments.
Toynbee once wrote that great civilizations do not simply die on their own. Foreign invaders don't destroy them -- they first commit suicide from within. The barbarians just make it official.
For those who chose to leave, they are good, decent public servants. They are unwilling to compromise their principles and integrity to a political agenda, versus public service. I applaud them! Speaking out is not easy and being unemployed is never easy. They are exactly the ypes of people we want in public service!
Shrinking the government by gutting services so this Adminstration can drown the public well-being and rule of law in a cesspool of corruption.
Well said. The ongoing destruction of the civil service amounts to the literal destruction of our country and all its values. It is that simple.
I fear that as things deteriorate, as more programs are cut, the effects will slowly become obvious. Perhaps too slowly to generate enough pushback to be effective in stopping the demise of necessary and effective government services. Public resignations outlining reasons and dangers help sound the alarm early. Thank you, Ms Rubin, for writing about them. More journalists need to do the same.
A government robbed of competence by its leader!
T wants the National Parks to fail- so he can say "It's awful there" and sell off the land.
What kind of house cleaning is going to be required when this loathsome administration is thrown in the dumpster? Will the next administration have to fire everyone hired in the next four years though Trump's shamelessly political hiring process? How will a working government serving the American people survive? ICE in particular... it seems like that agency will have to be demolished and reconstituted from the ground up. It appears irretrievable.
French saying (saying made by an ex-Belgian prime minister, Vanden Boeynants, a guy who would have been part of the GOP but surely not of the MAGA crowd)
"Quand tous les dégoûtés seront partis, il ne restera plus que les dégoûtants"
Translation:
When all those who are disgusted leave only the disgusting will be left.
Integrity and honor never, ever go out of style.
Character, competence, courage and a sense of humanity. That is what each of these individuals who have resigned as a matter of conscience have in common. It is a complete juxtaposition to the characteristics embodied by the President and his ethically challenged administrative sycophants.
Federal worker household here. We refuse to let our livelihood and loyalty to America shown by working for the people to be snatched away for no cause by a man who has everything. The result is living and working with the daily stress of firing threats, loss of support staff, increased workload, more demands to prove the weeks' accomplishments that were all accomplished just fine without a confirming email, insinuations that we are lazy and disloyal, and the possibility of losing our home and other assets, not to mention the peaceful life we enjoyed before this all began.
It's a lot to ask of low-paid employees, isn't it? Quitting would be attractive were there not so much at stake for our democracy and our personal futures. The majority of Americans, civil servants included, live paycheck to paycheck. Donald Trump has never earned a paycheck let alone done the job of representing all Americans. He thinks talking on the phone and insulting people on social media is work.
We beg to differ. And we're still working.
This is tragic. These are probably our best government employees - not to mention the hardship many will face without employment.