Statement of Democracy Forward on Trump Administration’s Actions to Undermine the Civil Service, Weaponize the Government Against People and Communities

Washington, DC – Today, Democracy Forward President & CEO, Skye Perryman, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s ongoing effort to undermine the civil service–including the summary attempt to place members of the civil service on administrative leave–and attacks on ensuring the government reflects and delivers for all of the American people:

“In the last 36 hours, the Trump-Vance administration has issued a series of Executive Orders intended to accelerate the implementation of some of Project 2025’s most harmful plans. This includes efforts to undermine the civil service and to politicize our non-partisan, independent federal service that protects our national and domestic security, ensures our food and medications are safe, delivers essential services to people and communities everywhere, and more.  These actions make clear that the Trump-Vance administration is deadset on weaponizing the government against the people.

“These actions threaten the integrity, effectiveness, and independence of the civil service, weakening its ability to serve the American people and safeguard our democracy. They disturb the separation of powers, undermine the will of Congress, and harm people and communities across the country. Civil servants in the United States serve under Republican and Democratic administrations – they owe allegiance to the Constitution and to the American people, not to any particular partisan agenda. President Trump is seeking to eradicate this manner of operating, forming a government in his own image.

“Rather than serve all American people and making sure the government is of, by, and for the people, President Trump is seeking to replace civil servants who swore an oath to the Constitution to serve the American people with political ideologues loyal only to him.

“With the stroke of a pen, the Trump administration is also seeking to erase decades of civil rights gains. Many of the administration’s actions are unlawful. Indeed, our laws passed by Congress, and the Constitution, have not changed.

“Our team is exploring all legal remedies and we intend to deliver a swift response, while also continuing to provide information and services to people and communities affected.”

Just yesterday, the former acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, Rob Shriver, and former senior OPM staff member, Kyleigh Russ – both of whom have dedicated their careers to improving government effectiveness and protecting the American people – joined Democracy Forward to provide real-time resources and response to civil servants who have been illegally fired, fear that their jobs are in jeopardy, and those who are afraid for the future of their jobs and their country. Shriver, Managing Director of Civil Service Strong, had the following to say:

”An effective federal government that works for all people is essential to our well-being. Americans rely on career civil servants to do their jobs without regard to their personal political beliefs. When we go to the grocery store, we want to have confidence that the meat was inspected by someone hired for their skills and not who they voted for. We want our small business loan applications evaluated on their merit rather than on whether we donated enough money to a particular political campaign. And when we fear for the safety of our families and property when wildfires are raging, we want to know that federal resources will be deployed based on where they are most needed and not on the political leanings of our neighborhood.”

BACKGROUND

Specifically, the administration has:

• Purged career senior executives: Arbitrarily fired subject-matter experts, sidelining critical nonpartisan leaders.
• Revived the harmful “Schedule F” order: Rebranded the initiative to “Schedule Policy/Career,” to replace tens of thousands of nonpartisan federal employees with partisan loyalists.
• Targeted and removed DEIA staff: Issued executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives, followed by an OPM memo placing both current DEIA staff and those previously in these positions on leave, effectively purging agencies of personnel dedicated to fostering equity and inclusion.
• Sidelined nonpartisan employees: Marginalized civil servants by assigning them to meaningless roles or placing them on paid leave at taxpayer expense, and requesting by Friday a list of all civil servants at each agency that meet criteria making them easiest to terminate.
• Eliminated telework and froze hiring: Rescinded telework policies to drive employees out of service and blocked efforts to replenish the workforce.
• Flooded the system with unqualified political appointees: Using a combination of Executive Orders and memos, lifted caps on political appointments, bypassed Senate confirmations, and waived background checks, granting unvetted appointees access to sensitive information.
• Weaponized the Office of Federal Contract Compliance: Stifled the crucial work of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, which helps ensure that our federal dollars are not given to companies that engage in discrimination.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Democracy Forward has prepared the following resources:

• FACT SHEET | Trump Puts Cronyism Over Competence (Current January 21)
• Details on Biden EOs Rescinded. Yesterday, Trump issued an Executive Order rescinding a number of Biden-Harris EOs and it was hard to tell from the order which policies were impacted.  We have compiled a list of the orders rescinded here.
• Legal Response Center. The Legal Response Center is available and being updated. Information about all the EOs issued is also available in a PDF summary here.