Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt on Tuesday blocked legislation to stop President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to downsize the federal workforce.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) called for quick passage of S. 399, the “Saving the Civil Service Act,” which would halt the incoming administration’s plans to revive Schedule F, a new class of federal employee Trump created in his last term that can be more easily fired.
“Nearly 150 years, our nation has recognized the value of a nonpartisan and merit-based system to carry out federal government functions,” Kaine said. “Having a dedicated civil service based on merit rather than political loyalties is in the best interest of everyone.”
Schmitt, in objecting to the unanimous consent request, said cutting down the federal bureaucracy was a top priority for Trump.
“Saving money should not be a partisan issue, and there are some people that probably need to go,” Schmitt said. “They’re great federal workers in our federal workforce, but we are wasting a lot of money, and people aren’t even willing to show up to work right now.”
Kaine’s bill would prohibit career positions at agencies from being reclassified as political appointees. Further, such transfers could not move forward without consent from the Office of Personnel Management and the employees themselves under the legislation.
In the final months of his first term, Trump signed an executive order establishing Schedule F. The order required agencies to identify federal employees who were developing policy and place them in the new category.
Few agencies complied with the order and President Joe Biden soon revoked it after getting to the White House. In addition, the Biden administration has finalized regulations to shield the civil service, but that rule would only slow down and not stop Schedule F’s revival.
The president-elect pledged to revive the order once he is back in office. Further, Trump told reporters Monday that teleworking federal employees should be “dismissed” if they don’t come back to the office.
Democrats promised they will fight Schedule F’s return during the incoming Trump administration.
“I can assure you that we will use every legislative and legal strategy available to us to protect that merit-based system and not allow it to be replaced by political cronyism,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said at an earlier press conference.
