A Message from Our President
A nonpartisan, professional civil service, selected based on merit and retained based on performance, is a bedrock of our democracy. The Trump Administration’s recent actions targeting the federal workforce represent an unprecedented threat to our nation's public service tradition. The flurry of expansive and indiscriminate personnel policies will impair the ability of our public institutions to meet their commitments to Americans. The reconstituted “Schedule F” and the veiled intimidation in the “deferred resignation” proposal are particularly troubling.
Cumulatively, these actions trivialize the contributions and sacrifices of millions of hard-working public servants—real people, with real families, who go to work every day in service of their fellow citizens and in pursuit of the common good. Further still, these actions deter talented, passionate jobseekers in the next generation from pursuing public service careers.
Instead, the Administration should drive a strategic effort to strengthen and improve our federal enterprise. There are many nonpartisan public service leaders, scholars, and organizations like the Volcker Alliance who stand ready to engage in critical conversations about workforce reform.
