President-Elect Donald Trump and his surrogates campaigned on eliminating government waste and now that he was elected, government employees are worried about losing their jobs during a second Trump administration.
“Much of the federal workforce is on edge and bracing itself for the likelihood its ranks will be purged when President-elect Donald Trump takes office,” said CNN reporter René Marsh.
Marsh also said that federal employees are “scared” and “anxious” about the possibility that Trump will conduct mass firings early into his second term.
One email sent out by a federal employee read, “We are in a ‘dystopian hellscape’ under the second Trump administration,” and those who worked during the first Trump administration say they are experiencing “PTSD” over the return of Trump.
But some of these may be an overreaction. There were some cuts in the first Trump run, but not enough to the liking of what some conservative groups wished for. But this time, it may be different.
There are more than 2 million federal government workers and Trump said he wants to install a commission to look at areas where government can be cut. Two of those areas are the Federal Dept. Of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
If Trump decides to overhaul the federal government, he would do it under what is known as Schedule F. This gives Trump the green light to remove government workers and replace them with his own of his choosing.
Liberal groups are declaring the “sky is falling.” Tim Whitehouse, executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said, “It’s going to be a complete meltdown because the Trump people have learned what to do, and they are more radical this time. They’ve been transparent about [their] desire to fire those who disagree with their agenda.”
But Trump supporters support the move.
“I don’t get why the media and liberal groups are all acting surprised.,” said Florida political commentator Jamie Miller. “They knew if Trump won, he would make a move to deregulate and gut the waste inside these federal departments,’
“If Democrats win, conservatives aren’t shocked when we see them try to increase the government, so why are Democrats acting strange when we campaign on making government smaller,” said Miller.
Other Trump surrogates point out, “To the winner goes the spoilers. Elections have consequences, and the individual who won is allowed to make such changes.”
However, “purging” federal jobs might be challenging because those workers are part of the American Federation of Government Employees Union.
CNN is also reporting that union leadership is lawyering up to challenge the incoming administration’s efforts to downsize federal agencies, which will most likely end up in court.
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