Date: February 1, 2018
The Hill newspaper interviewed TELG's Nicholas Woodfield about President Trump's request for the power to fire federal employees "who undermine the public trust or fail the American people." Mr. Woodfield said that such arbitrary firing power could devastate the federal workforce.
Quoteworthy:
“It’d be like someone in the Army saying we’re going to fire everyone in the Army as we see fit — suddenly you’ve thrown out all the institutional knowledge and damaged yourself.”
Nicholas Woodfield
Federal workers on edge over Trump call for firing power
Federal employee unions are on edge after President Trump called on Congress Tuesday night to give agencies the power to fire federal workers at will.
In his first State of the Union address, Trump praised the VA Accountability Act — a law he signed last year to make it easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire employees accused of misconduct — and called for similar powers to be extended to all agencies.
“All Americans deserve accountability and respect and that is what we are giving them,” he said.
“So tonight, I call on the Congress to empower every Cabinet secretary with the authority to reward good workers and to remove federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people.”
Some are viewing the statements as a clear threat to the federal workforce, which Trump vowed on the campaign trail to cut drastically. The workforce has already seen a decline in his first year.
