40 senators introduce bill to block Trump’s civil service reorg – By Jessie Bur (Federal Times) / Nov 19 2020
A large coalition of Senate Democrats led by Gary Peters, D-Mich., introduced legislation Nov. 18 that would block President Donald Trump’s Oct. 21 executive order creating a new classification of excepted service feds.
The order mandated the creation of a Schedule F category for federal employees that perform policy-centered work, removing many protections those employees currently have to appeal removal from their job and enabling agency leaders to fill those positions without public competition.
“This recent executive order will not only strip protections away from hard-working, dedicated civil servants, but it also recklessly creates chaos and dysfunction during the ongoing pandemic and presidential transition,” said Peters in a news release.
“Our country is facing a number of serious challenges that must be quickly and effectively tackled, from safeguarding our national security to addressing the coronavirus pandemic — and non-partisan federal employees carry out this critical work. I am proud to lead this legislation that will prevent the Trump administration from creating uncertainty for federal employees at a time when their work is incredibly important to protecting American lives.”
