FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2025
January 20, 2025
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
[email protected]
Trump Order Politicizing Federal Workers Threatens Integrity of Government Work, Union Leader Says
AFGE national president: Schedule F order will put ‘army of sycophants’ in charge of administering federal programs
WASHINGTON – American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley today issued the following statement in response to an executive order issued by President Trump reinstituting his controversial excepted service hiring authority, Schedule F, to include any career federal job connected to federal policy:
“President Trump’s order is a blatant attempt to corrupt the federal government by eliminating employees’ due process rights so they can be fired for political reasons. It will remove hundreds of thousands of federal jobs from the nonpartisan, professional civil service and make them answerable to the will of one man.
“This unprecedented assertion of executive power will create an army of sycophants beholden only to Donald Trump, not the Constitution or the American people. The integrity of the entire federal government could be irreparably harmed if this is not stopped.
“America’s civil service is a merit system protected from corruption by due process rights for federal employees. Corrupting the civil service by reclassifying professional jobs into Schedule F is against the interests of American citizens who expect that federal employees be hired solely based on their ability to carry out the duties of their position. In a recent Wall Street Journal poll, more than 60% of voters said they are opposed to Trump firing career civil-service workers and replacing them with hand-picked appointees.
“AFGE urges Congress to intervene immediately to stop Schedule F. Every American has a stake in ensuring that federal employees remain free to carry out the mission of the agencies that employ them without fear of political interference.”
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