I mostly agree with what Andy has to say in this piece, except for what I think is a broad extrapolation at the end.
However, as a member of NAFSR (Forest Service retirees), I think it’s interesting that Angus (the reporter) chose to interview the head of the “former agency group” for the Park Service but not the Forest Service nor BLM. Or maybe he did but didn’t use their quotes. The piece isn’t paywalled, so you can read all of it, but I’ve excerpted what Andy said. I agree with many of the things he says.
There’s “uncertainty throughout the Forest Service,” said Andy Stahl, executive director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. “The fear is palpable.”
An implication in the “Fork in the Road” memo is that “the next [offer] may be less generous,” Stahl said. “It may be ‘give us your keys, you’re out of here.’
“Everybody in the Forest Service,” he said, “is just hunkered down waiting for the next axe to fall.”
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As the Republican agenda advances, it’s clear whose necks are first on the chopping block, Forest Service supporter Stahl said.
“If you’ve got [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] in your title the Trump administration has made it very clear you should either get a different job or leave the government entirely,” he said.
But “I doubt the Trump administration is going to can the firefighters,” who make up about half the USFS workforce, Stahl said.
“At the end of the day, somebody’s going to have to replace the toilet paper in the campground restrooms, process the permit for the Boy Scout 20-person campout, go out and mark the small trees that will be thinned in a fuels reduction project,” he said.
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But of course those are things temps do, that wouldn’t have been funded anyway. I hope the new Admin fixes the temp situation post-haste.
Here are the things I don’t agree with..
As Stahl sees it, Trump’s goal is to get the U.S. Supreme Court to declare the Civil Service Reform Act unconstitutional, a violation of the separation of powers. The act created the modern-day civil service, the phalanx of 2.2 million government workers who carry out congressional laws, executive directions and court rulings.
Adopting that perspective, Stahl pointed out that the president doesn’t tell Barrasso who he can or can’t hire for his staff. Trump can’t tell Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who can be his clerks.
“Why can Congress tell me who I can hire?” Trump might ask, according to Stahl. For Trump, “that doesn’t seem fair,” Stahl said.
The notion of a civil service beholden only to the president has support from conservative scholars in The Federalist Society, a legal organization that is “ramrodding this return to constitutional literalism and the original intent of the founders,” Stahl said.
“They read dusty old manuscripts [and would] return to our nation to 250 years ago when the president only employed five people,” Stahl said. “That’s the end game.”
I think that’s a bit of an overreach or extrapolation. A more simple explanation is that they want to cut employees and this is a way to do it, not unlike what happens in the private sector.
I also think it’s worth considering how quickly stories can go from content of the story, to intent of those doing the work in the story (usually only under certain kinds of Admins).
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But Wyofile regularly assures me, especially when they’re looking for donations, that they are unbiased. So there’s that.
I have been following the far right America First Policy Institute and Heritage Foundation for quite some time (founders of Project 2025 and other far right ideals). Some may disagree with me but the think tank promotes facism and a break down of the our current system of democracy so they can rebuild it in their own image of what america should look like. That is what is going on right now, a coup of sorts using trump as their puppet. The DOGE and Elonia Mush are tools to make some of this happen with one focus on federal agencies. As I watch these things from afar (even mind boggling acts such as ordering pronouns removed from fed employee signature blocks for “Defense of Women”) I am fascinated that people are not truly seeing what is happening. But, my job is not on the line, nor am I going to be too badly affected so I would probably be looking at it from a narrower point of view if it was. When america hits rock bottom maybe people will wake up.
Lesa, I don’t follow those think tanks, but I do listen to the words of many of the people in the current Admin, which we all can read or listen to directly. Many of these are not in alignment with the think tanks. From where I sit, there are many forces in the new Admin which are not in alignment, along some of the lines of the voters themselves (example, degree of importance of different kinds of intervention in other countries). Sometimes the DOGE effort just uncovers things that we can agree or disagree are good uses of federal funds.
Also some people think America was pretty close to rock bottom and that’s why they voted the way they did.
If they think it was close to rock bottom, they have a rude awakening coming. I’ve watched entitled americans who are so blessed to have more than one car, phone, computer, gadgets, travel, vacations, etc. (they don’t even think twice about it) complain about how bad things are. Hmmm. The airport parking lots are so full you can hardly find a parking space and the restaurants are full on weekends. People are delusional and voted accordingly. Crime is down. Abortions are down. Immigration policy does not affect the average american. Racism, sexism, and homophobia abound throughout america and trump played on it. america deserves this coup. I hope people stocked up on food and have a garden to prepare for the coming trump years. I hope people purchased large ticket items and did major repairs prior to 2025. Because I do follow the far right think tanks and I am a student of history and I did prepare. Some folks are really going to be hurting. Then america will understand rock bottom and maybe wake up. Sounds dismal. It will be.
Well, I am a student of history but don’t follow right wing think tanks. Many people in my county have been preppers for a long time, concerned about different things that could happen, like EMPs. As for me, I don’t know what will happen, like I said, somethings will turn out well, some things will turn out badly, and no matter what happens, we will need to depend on others, whatever their political views. I live in a red and blue mixed area and I don’t think you understand the views of Trump voters and D apostates. But that’s OK.
A federal court has delayed the OPM initiative; hearing scheduled for Monday.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-temporarily-blocks-implementation-deferred-resignation-program/
I’m certainly pleased we no longer post outrageous, radical political rhetoric on TSW…..
Jim, you’ve got a point. It’s hard for me to be strict with the regulars here 🙁 . But I will be replying to them right away gently. We’ll see where this goes. I can always tighten up..
My resolve is finite, and will be tested the more I study on this particular post. I do like to see and hear both sides but they need to at least be rational. 🤠
Maybe I shouldn’t have posted the last quote? I’m getting a feel for when things veer off course but haven’t quite gotten to where I can react appropriately, whatever that is.
Angus’ statement that “the notion of a civil service beholden only to the president has support from conservative scholars in The Federalist Society, a legal organization” is very clearly true. That group has been advocating the “unitary executive” theory for years. That theory argues that the executive branch is the President and the President is the executive branch. Under that strongest version of that theory the President is free to fire anyone in the civil service he wants, regardless of laws Congress has passed to protect those positions from the whims of the President. The Supreme Court, as currently comprised, might very well interpret the Constitution to align with that position. The one thing that might stop the Supreme Court (specifically Roberts and Coney Barrett) from reaching such a decision is the clear threat that an unrestrained Trump presents.
There’s nothing fantastical about what either Andy or the reporter said regarding what the Federalist Society thinks the law of the land should be with regards to Presidential power.
Yes, I agree that the Federalist Society may think that. But.. my issue is the clear link between what The Federalist Society thinks and what the current Admin is doing. The article was about the buy-out. For me, it’s quite a stretch between that and “firing anyone in the Civil Service the Prez wants.”
Quite a stretch? Really?
This is a headline from today:
“U.S.A.I.D. Is Said to Be Keeping Just 290 of Its 10,000 Employees”
I’d say that is pretty close to “firing anyone in the Civil Service the Prez wants.” We’ll have to wait to see just how expansive the Supreme Courth thinks this unitary executive theory should be.
“We have been unburdened by what has been”, I believe it goes, so as an Executive Branch employee, they are beholden to the Chief Executive – in this case the President. The examples of USAID fraud and abuse certainly calls question into the legitimacy of that Organization.
I’ve “heard” the Ag Department’s time is coming, focusing on Keystone Agreements and pass thru Grants. I’ve see n a figure of 120 million thrown around but that’s chicken feed compared to the billions of misuse and fraud in other Agencies. We’ll see; ABC News quoted 300 employees out of 14,000 at USAID will be kept onboard. That’s lots of wheat and corn, in salary savings, for those interested in facts!