Protect the Nonpartisan Civil Service and Reverse These Executive Orders

THE NONPARTISAN CIVIL SERVICE MUST BE PRESERVED I urge you to reverse recent changes to the professional civil service and protect a federal government that serves the Constitution, the law, and the public - not any president’s personal political interests. Executive Order 14171, “Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce,” and the June 3, 2026 Executive Order entitled “Implementing Schedule Policy/Career in the Excepted Service” weaken long-standing protections for approximately 8,000 senior career federal employees and make it easier to remove them from their positions in ways that may not be limited to professional competence or performance. The result is a federal workforce that may be less willing to provide candid professional advice, report wrongdoing, challenge improper actions, or deliver objective expertise when political leaders would prefer a different answer. THESE EXECUTIVE ORDERS STRIP AWAY LONG-STANDING JOB PROTECTIONS Together, these executive orders created and implemented Schedule Policy/Career, a new classification affecting approximately 8,000 senior career federal positions. Although these employees remain career personnel, the orders reduce procedural protections that have historically helped shield career federal employees from arbitrary removal. CAREER EXPERTS MUST BE FREE TO SPEAK THE TRUTH The United States moved away from the patronage system because government functions best when public servants are hired and retained based on merit rather than political loyalty. Career employees should faithfully implement lawful policy, but they must also be free to provide honest professional advice, identify problems, report illegality, and resist improper political pressure. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL PAY THE PRICE FOR POLITICIZED GOVERNMENT Veterans’ benefits, disaster assistance, environmental enforcement, public health programs, federal grants, tax administration, and other essential services all depend on professionals who can provide objective advice without fear of political retaliation. When experienced career employees believe their jobs may depend on satisfying political superiors rather than exercising independent professional judgment, some may become less willing to identify problems, raise concerns, or challenge questionable decisions. Over time, that can lead to poorer decision-making, weaker oversight, reduced accountability, and a greater risk that mistakes, waste, abuse, or misconduct will go unreported and uncorrected. IMMEDIATE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION IS NECESSARY Congress established the modern civil service system and possesses the authority to protect it. Congress also has oversight, appropriations, and legislative powers that can be used to preserve merit-based government service and safeguard whistleblower protections. Please take these steps: (1) REVERSE THESE EXECUTIVE ORDERS. Support legislation, appropriations restrictions, oversight actions, or any combination of these lawful measures to reverse the above-mentioned executive orders and restore the merit-based protections that help keep the federal workforce professional, independent, and accountable to the law. (2) PROTECT APPEAL RIGHTS. Preserve review by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and prevent agencies from reclassifying employees without meaningful due-process protections. (3) DEFEND WHISTLEBLOWERS. Ensure that federal employees can report waste, fraud, abuse, illegality, and political pressure without fear of retaliation. (4) REQUIRE OVERSIGHT. Hold hearings, obtain lists of affected positions, require written justifications for reclassifications, and make those justifications publicly available whenever possible. (5) BAR LOYALTY TESTS. Make clear in federal law that career civil servants owe their duty to the Constitution and the laws of the United States, not to any individual officeholder or political movement. Thank you.