Civil service
32 Articles
Deprofessionalizing the State Department Is a Threat to National Security
One reason for the continuation of senior staff across administrations is because it takes time to build the human capital required, and an experienced diplomatic corps is an essential…
Politicizing the Civil Service: How a New Executive Order Destabilizes the U.S. Government
President Donald Trump unveiled a stunning executive order that threatens to undermine one of the most important aspects of American government: the professional civil service.…
Good Governance Paper No. 17: How to Use the Bureaucracy to Govern Well
[Editors’ note: This essay is one in a series—the Good Governance Papers—organized by Just Security. In these essays, leading experts explore actionable legislative and…
Federal Employees’ Liability Risks for Following Illegal Directives to Interfere in 2020 Election
Former Acting General Counsel at the Department of Defense with a strong warning to federal employees across departments and agencies.
Wrecking the Government to Build a Wall
Washington has muddled into and out of shutdowns before, but this one has the potential to be dangerously historic. The current impasse may become the straw that breaks the camel’s…
What Will You Do if Mueller is Fired?
Street protest outside Trump International Hotel and Tower, New York City, March 8, 2017. Photo credit: Melissa Bender “Whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws…
Exclusive: Trump’s Trolls Are Waging War on America’s Civil Servants
On June 11, alt-right blogger Mike Cernovich published an article attacking an assistant to National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, claiming the previously low-profile civil servant…
Administrative Checks and Balances in the Trump Administration
Raise your hand if you went to bed Tuesday thanking James Madison for the gift of separation of powers. For years, scholars and pundits have resented that gift, railing against…