Trump Administration Makes it Easier to Fire Ineffective Federal Employees

On Friday, President Donald Trump issued three executive orders that will make it much easier for the government to fire poor-performing federal employees. 

The administration expects the executive orders to save taxpayers $100 million a year. 

In an effort to motivate federal employees, the government will be implementing a merit-based system for employees and they will now be rewarded based on “performance over seniority.

Currently, a government agency will often suspend an employee, instead of firing them. Under Trump’s new executive orders, agencies will be directed to fire poor performing employees and limit the time given to see if an overperforming employee improves in their role.

The second executive order creates a federal labor group focused on analyzing union contracts. It will make it more difficult for unions to appeal firings. 

The third executive order requires at least 75 percent of federal employees’ workday to be dedicated to work-related activities. 

“Tenured Federal employees have stolen agency property, run personal businesses from work, and been arrested for using drugs during lunch breaks and not been fired,” said the White House in a press release.

Trump said that the goal of the executive orders is to “empower our civil servants to best help others, the government must always operate more efficiently and more securely.”

Not everyone is pleased with Trump’s push to increase the federal workers’ productivity. 

“Our government is built on a system of checks and balances to prevent any one person from having too much influence,” said J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, according to Buzzfeed. “President Trump’s executive orders will undo all of that. This administration seems hellbent on replacing a civil service that works for all taxpayers with a political service that serves at its whim.

But as Andrew Bremberg, the leader of Trump’s domestic policy council argues the new directives “will make it easier for agencies to remove poor-performing employees and ensure that taxpayer dollars are more efficiently used.”

“The president is fulfilling his promise to promote more efficient government by reforming our civil service rules,” said Bremberg. 

Author’s note: This should have been done a long time ago. Federal employees are notoriously known for slacking and have been tremendously difficult to fire. This has created a federal workforce with a substantial portion of ineffective workers. But this move will improve government service dramatically. We aren’t surprised that Trump, a businessman, would be the one to implement this.

Editor’s note: I worked for years with the Central Intelligence Agency, and even though they were the finest, most dedicated, most intelligent people in federal service, there was still deadwood, people who were retired in place. This new approach from Trump is sorely needed.