The Right Path to a New Generation of Public Servants

Recruit young people will require good management and hiring based on talent, not political fealty.

The Trump administration last year arbitrarily jettisoned thousands of young employees and eliminated successful programs to bring both early-career and technology specialists into the government. It now has suddenly reversed course, announcing new initiatives to prioritize these two vital talent cohorts.

On its face, the new recruitment efforts appear to be an unspoken admission that at least some of last year’s actions were counter-productive, but the manner and circumstances in which these plans are being pursued raise serious concerns.

(bpperry/iStock)

In the broader context, the initiatives are occurring with federal agencies in disarray because of the largest destruction of government capacity in our nation’s history.

Since the beginning of this administration, the government has lost more than 388,000 employees, along with their experience and talent, through arbitrary firings, buyouts, and retirements. This includes employees under 30, with this age group accounting for just 7.9% of the workforce in January compared with 8.9% in September 2024. In contrast, employees under 30 made up 19.4% of the U.S. labor force in 2025.

The blow to talent capacity that the administration is now trying to reverse took many forms. Last year, the administration arbitrarily fired thousands of probationary employees, individuals who had less than one year on the job; abandoned the Presidential Management Fellows Program, long considered the federal government’s premier leadership pipeline for advanced-degree graduates; shut down 18F, which has helped agencies modernize technology and improve service delivery; and gutted the U.S. Digital Service that was delivering modern technology solutions for federal programs and processes.

Amid all the destruction, President Trump filled his administration with politically appointed leaders who prioritize loyalty to him over professional expertise and effective management. In the process, employee morale has plummeted, and services to the public have suffered.

Without acknowledging this backdrop, the administration has now launched its plan to recruit young employees and created the U.S. Tech Force, an initiative designed to hire1,000 early-career technologists for two-year stints to work on technology modernization projects.

Bringing young people and other new employees into government while ignoring the administration’s troubling past actions is hardly a recipe for success.

But just as worrisome is the administration’s apparent intent to emphasize political fealty in new employee recruitment efforts instead of the longstanding principle of nonpartisan, merit-based hiring that focuses on qualifications, competence, and a commitment to public service.

Under the latest federal hiring rules, applicants are asked to complete questions detailing how they would advance specific presidential executive orders and policy priorities regardless of whether the role they are applying for would even touch on these policies, enabling the selection of employees based on political agreement rather than nonpartisan expertise.

The political approach to hiring undermines the foundation of the civil service system. For more than a century, the United States has worked to insulate its federal workforce from political interference, recognizing that government functions best when federal agencies can provide services to all Americans regardless of political affiliation. This merit-based system has ensured continuity, expertise and integrity and a focus on government for the people, not a particular party, across administrations of both parties.

If political considerations begin to outweigh merit, agencies will become less effective and talented individuals — especially young professionals — may not view government as a place where they can build meaningful careers based on their capabilities and areas of expertise.

Trying to recruit a new generation into an environment where good management is not a priority and where hiring depends on political fealty is a recipe for failure. Talented young professionals have options, and if public service appears dysfunctional, politicized, and disconnected from its merit-based foundations, they will choose other paths.

This should concern leaders of both parties. Every administration depends on a capable, nonpartisan workforce to implement its policies. Weakening the workforce for short-term political gain and ignoring the need for competent management imposes long-term costs on the nation.

To rebuild our government after the senseless destruction, the administration should deal with the profound leadership deficit of many of its political appointees who are creating dysfunctional organizations and driving employee morale into the ground. These appointees should be held accountable for being good stewards of public trust, although the administration is doing the opposite — abandoning the need for these individuals to have performance plans to ensure they meet their obligations to the public.

Despite certain targeted efforts over the years, the government has typically struggled to bring in young, talented individuals to the civil service at levels like the private sector. It’s past time for reforms that tackle this issue head-on, like building robust student internship programs; fixing the broken hiring process; including early-career talent in strategic workforce planning efforts; making it easier for agencies to convert standout interns, fellows, and apprentices to full-time employees; and eliminating unpaid opportunities so that government’s talent pipeline isn’t limited to only those who can afford those opportunities.

And all of this should be done without the partisan lens and veiled references to loyalty. The plain truth is that the government cannot meet the demands of today or of the future with a workforce shaped by political considerations, depleted of the next generation of employees, and run by appointees lacking commitment to the public good.

Rebuilding public service requires a clear recommitment to the principles of competence, professionalism, and nonpartisan integrity. Anything less is not reform but a violation of the public trust.

Max Stier is the founding president and CEO of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, an organization focused on building a better government and a stronger democracy.

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