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Trump overhauls federal hiring to reward loyalty, scrapping a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service, critics and workers warn | WaPo

President Donald Trump is accelerating efforts to transform the federal workforce from a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service to a system that values loyalty to the president and to push policies that allow the administration to more easily dismiss career employees, according to federal workers, public service experts and employment attorneys.The ongoing shift would erase decades of precedent in which federal hiring, retention and promotion are designed to be based largely on skills and experience, the workers, experts and attorneys say.The House-passed budget proposal under consideration in the Senate would give new federal workers an ultimatum to accept “at-will” status — meaning they could be more easily fired — or pay a higher retirement contribution. The administration also unveiled a plan to require job applicants to write short essays describing how they plan to advance Trump’s priorities. And Trump has revived his previous efforts to reclassify thousands of federal employees and blur the line between political appointees and career professionals.“These employees could be replaced with partisan loyalists — people who will obey any order, regardless of the Constitution,” said Joe Spielberger, senior policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight. “This elevates loyalty to an individual president over the oath of office and the best interests of the public.”Many civil servants now fear the changes will further upend a workforce that has historically prized competence and neutrality. In interviews with 13 federal employees across seven agencies — almost all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for retaliation — workers described the transformation as a direct assault on the foundational principles of public service. They said the administration’s moves appear designed to hollow out a government staffed by experts and replace it with one filled by political allies.The Trump administration argues that the government had stopped hiring based on merit, pointing to agencies that released demographic recruitment and workforce data and carried out diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies.The Office of Personnel Management issued a federal hiring overhaul May 29, telling agencies to end DEI programs and to limit “disseminating information regarding the composition of the agency’s workforce based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.” The plan also would require the government to recruit people early in their careers, those with expertise in STEM and veterans.“Before this new plan, federal hiring was not merit-focused and relied on subjective self-assessments, academic pedigree, overlong federal resumes, and DEI criteria,” OPM spokeswoman McLaurine Pinover said in a statement to The Washington Post. “With the Merit Hiring Plan, the Trump Administration is prioritizing the most capable and patriotic candidates through objective, skills-based assessments in order to deliver results for the American people.”Conservatives have celebrated the shift in hiring and firing practices. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), who had proposed legislation to label federal workers as “at-will,” told The Post that he thought the government should operate like a business.“In business, you are expected to have a better product, better services, better prices,” Scott said. “You should have the exact same expectation for your federal government.”But Aisha Coffey, a communications specialist at the Food and Drug Administration who is now on administrative leave after being fired, said she felt ill when she read through the OPM memo outlining how Trump aims to overhaul federal hiring.“That memo details this administration’s sordid strategy to turn a nonpartisan federal workforce into a merry band of MAGA loyalists,” Coffey said. “The directive is clear: The civil service is to serve the president, first and foremost, and the American population last.”FULL GIFT LINK: https://wapo.st/4l7nGiYHELP US REPORT ON THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S OVERHAUL OF GOVERNMENT, EVERYTHING FROM HIRING TO WORKING CONDITIONS TO AGENCY FUNCTIONS. THE WASHINGTON POST WANTS TO HEAR FROM ANYONE WITH A STORY OR INFORMATION TO SHARE! WE WILL USE BEST SECURE SOURCING PRACTICES AND HONOR ANONYMITY REQUESTS. CONTACT US BELOW: Meryl Kornfield: [meryl.kornfield@washpost.com](mailto:meryl.kornfield@washpost.com) or (301)-821-2013 on Signal.Hannah Natanson: [hannah.natanson@washpost.com](mailto:hannah.natanson@washpost.com) or (202) 580-5477 on Signal.

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