WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after the Trump administration issued an executive order last week to create a new “Schedule F” category for federal employees, a provision that would undermine the professional corps of civil servants by facilitating politically-motivated hiring and firing practices:
“President Trump and his administration have relentlessly attacked protections for American workers and the bedrock institutions of our democracy throughout their time in office. The president’s recent executive order—designed to gut longstanding civil service protections for the many dedicated New Mexicans and Americans who keep our government running—is nothing short of a direct assault on the federal workforce.
“The civil service is designed to uphold the critical functions of our government with non-partisan professionals. Many New Mexicans proudly serve in the federal civil service and contribute to their communities and to our nation. Some individuals are quite literally putting out fires in New Mexico and across the West, while others are conducting critical scientific research for a coronavirus vaccine. President Trump’s executive order threatens to upend the careers of hardworking civil servants to install cronies who serve their own personal and political interests over the interests of the American people. During a presidential election year, it’s even more critical that our government retains the institutional knowledge of career civil servants to safeguard the trust of the American people and our long-term public policy interests.
“I will be standing firm to defend federal workers against the president’s brazen attempts to bend the U.S. government to his political and corrupt wishes just days before the election. New Mexicans, Americans, and civil servants deserve a president and a Congress that has their back.”
