(3) actions, one of which is due by Nov. 17th.
Before Trump left office, he signed “Schedule F,” an executive order to fill the entire executive branch with his lackeys. Biden rescinded it, but without a law, it waits for any GOP president to resurrect a “spoils” system of corruption!
With the backing of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 – the ‘Far-Right Playbook for American Authoritarianism‘, Trump has repeated his threat to “gut the existing U.S. government and ‘install a pre-vetted, pro-Trump army of up to 54,000 loyalists’ to take over senior legal, judicial, defense, regulatory, and domestic policy jobs in the civil service.” This would effectively removing any guardrails to his actions, no matter how unconstitutional or destructive they may be. By removing career officials’ protection from forced politicization with “Schedule F, “…Donald Trump is telling us, loud and clear, that he wants to end American democracy as we know it.”
ACTION #1: Call your representatives!
We originally published this post in August of 2022. We have updated the bill numbers and names.
Minimal script to your representatives: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep. [___] to vote “YES on H.R. 1002 – Saving the Civil Service Act. If Trump is re-elected, he has promised to destroy this merit-based system, replacing it with political extremists. This is a hallmark of an authoritarian or fascist governments, and we are running out of time for the House to take basic actions to protect our democracy.
(Cosponsors: H.R.1002 – Brownley and Carbajal are NOT YET cosponsors)
Contacts (Pick yours)
ACTION #2: Call your senators!
Minimal script to your senators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Senator [___] to vote “YES on S.399 – Saving the Civil Service Act. If Trump is re-elected, he has promised to destroy this merit-based system, replacing it with political extremists. This is a hallmark of an authoritarian or fascist governments, and we are running out of time for the Senate to take basic actions to protect our democracy.
(Cosponsors: S.399 – Butler and Padilla are NOT YET cosponsors.
Contacts (Call both)
ACTION #3: Comment to support the proposed rule opposing Schedule F – Due 11/17/2023 at 8:59 pm PST
The US Office of Personnel Management has issued a rule to neuter Schedule F. Encourage them!
- Click here to get to the page.
- Click here to go DIRECTLY to the comment box.
- Your comment does not need to be long! Lots of good (1) or (2) line comments will have an impact! Take 5 minutes and DO THIS!
- Click here to read what other people have written.
- Note – DO NOT COPY/PASTE another person’s comment. Identical comments are TOSSED!
- “I need more information/inspiration!”
- Don Moynihan’s comment is here. It includes lots of inspiration and facts about why Schedule F, a return to the corrupt patronage “spoils” system of the Andrew Jackson presidency, is inefficient and unaccountable, while removing the guardrails of checks and balances on a president who would be king.
- We’ve been here before. It’s time to pay attention to history.
“There’s a reason authoritarians target the bureaucracy. Once they have it under their control, they are better able to stifle dissent and criticism, reward friends and punish enemies, using the levers of government to maintain power.” – Donald Moynihan
“The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Andrew Jackson was tempered, arrogant, violent and a ferocious partisan who introduced the spoils system into government.” – William O’Neill, Historian “Old Slickery,” New York Times Book Review, 2005
” …[the spoils system] is a detestable system, drawn from the worst periods of the Roman republic; and if it were to be perpetuated, if the offices, honors, and dignities of the people were to be put up to the scramble, to be decided by the result of every Presidential election, our Government and institutions, becoming intolerable, would finally end in a despotism as inexorable as that at Constantinople.” – Henry Clay, 1852, U.S. Congressman and Senator (National Republican & Whig, KY), Speaker of the House, U.S. Secretary of State
“By means of principles which he (President Andrew Jackson) has introduced [the spoils system], and innovations which he has made in our institutions, alas! but too much countenanced by Congress and a confiding people, he exercises uncontrolled the power of the state. In one hand he holds the purse and in the other brandishes the sword of the country! Myriads of dependents and partisans scattered over the land are ever ready to sing hosannas to him and to laud to the skies what ever he does. He has swept over the government like a tropical tornado. – Henry Clay, 1852, U.S. Congressman and Senator (National Republican & Whig, KY), Speaker of the House, U.S. Secretary of State
“What we affirm is that the theory which regards places in the public service as prizes to be distributed after an election, like plunder after a battle, the theory which perverts public trusts into party spoils, making public employment dependent on favor and not on proved merit, necessarily ruins the self-respect of public employees, destroys the function of party in a republic, prostitutes elections into a desperate strife for personal profit, and degrades the national character by lowering the moral tone and standard of the country.” – George William Curtis, 1824-1892, Civil Service Reformer & Political editor of Harper’s Weekly, Speech, “Party and Patronage,” 1887
Deeper Dive: We have learned a lot about how to corrupt a government from Trump.
Read a great article here: “A Temptation to Dishonesty”: Patronage and the Corruption of the Party System, 1828–83
- We’ve learned that a president can simply behave unethically, like refusing to divest from businesses or disclose tax returns, with zero consequences.
- We’ve learned that a court system stocked with far-right extremists can strip long-held civil rights from our citizens.
- We’ve learned that cabinet members can be installed to deliberately destroy or dismantle their own agencies.
We’ve also learned that we were inches away from Trump implementing his executive order “Schedule F“, under which he could replace most of the merit-based non-partisan civil service employees in “confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating” jobs – those who currently swear an oath to the constitution – with a system where the main qualifications would be loyalty to him, just like in our original “patronage-spoils system” of the 1830’s, including bribes and kickbacks. Although Biden rescinded the order upon taking office, Trump-lickspittle Rep. Chip Roy, (R-TX) introduced H.R.8550 – Public Service Reform Act – to “re-form” our government into a system of corruption that would make Trump, and any other third-world dictator proud.
Trump just ran out time before he could spread the embarassing nepotism (Ivanka & Jared!), lying (Wilber Ross) waste (Scott Pruit, Tom Price), religious fanaticism (Betsy DeVos!), Hatch Act violations (Lynne Patton) and flunky incompetence (oh, Ben Carson) of his first administration throughout the government. But a former Trump official stated “It literally takes five minutes to reissue it. There was real value to issuing Schedule F because it turned it into a ‘flip the switch’ thing for the next administration that wants to do it.” Like if Trump is re-elected. Or budding authoritarian Ron De Santis.
(Axios) New presidents typically get to replace more than 4,000 so-called “political” appointees to oversee the running of their administrations. But below this rotating layer of political appointees sits a mass of government workers who enjoy strong employment protections — and typically continue their service from one administration to the next, regardless of the president’s party affiliation.
An initial estimate by the Trump official who came up with Schedule F found it could apply to as many as 50,000 federal workers — a fraction of a workforce of more than 2 million, but a segment with a profound role in shaping American life. It is now estimated to be 54,000.
Trump or any future fascist president, in theory, could fire tens of thousands of career government officials with no recourse for appeals. He could replace them with people he believes are more loyal to him and to his “America First” agenda. The very fact that such power exists could create a significant chilling effect on government employees.
- (donmoynihan.substack) What you need to know about Schedule F
- (donmoynihan.substack) A tangible thing you can do today to fight Trump’s takeover of the federal government
- (Slate) Suppose They Threw a Cage Match Between Fascism and Democracy and Nobody Cared
- (Salon) Donald Trump’s wrecking crew: A cabinet of zealots who yearn to destroy their own agencies – Previous GOP presidents have appointed anti-government hardliners, but Trump’s cabinet goes further than ever
- (Politico) Opinion | The Patronage System Was Corrupt. It’s Threatening a Comeback.
- (Govexec) House Panel Advances Bill Aimed at Preventing Future Schedule F Efforts
- (Govexec) If Trump Is Reelected, His Aides Are Planning to Purge the Civil Service
- (Govexec) Union Sues and Democrats Introduce Bill to Block Trump Order Politicizing Civil Service
- (Axios) A radical plan for Trump’s second term
- (TrumpWhiteHouse.archives.gov) Executive Order on Creating Schedule F In The Excepted Service
- (the conversation) What is fascism?
- (historynewnetwork.org) We Asked 16 Historians If They Think Trump Is a Fascist. This Is What They Said.
- (aei.org) “A Temptation to Dishonesty”: Patronage and the Corruption of the Party System, 1823-83
- (NARFE) Senators Introduce Bill to Protect Merit-Based Civil Service
- (NARFE) NARFE Opposes New ‘Public Service Reform Act,’ Which Would Eradicate Merit-Based Civil Service
Quote in header: https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2022/03/trump-threatening-return-and-expansion-schedule-f/363145/
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 