Three former Justice Department employees filed a lawsuit claiming their dismissals were unlawful, arguing that the Trump administration's removal of the MSPB head paralyzed the board, preventing them from seeking recourse for their firings, which they contend violated civil service protections.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has instructed the military to ensure a smooth transition to President-elect Donald Trump, emphasizing the military's duty to uphold the Constitution and remain apolitical. This directive comes amid concerns over Trump's plans to use federal forces at the border and replace career civil servants with loyalists. The Biden administration has taken steps to protect civil servants from political interference, following Trump's previous executive order aimed at reducing job security for federal employees.
The Biden administration has proposed a new rule to strengthen protections for federal workers, aiming to preempt Republican attempts to reduce and alter the federal workforce. The proposed rule clarifies civil service protections and makes it more difficult to reclassify employees into categories where certain protections can be stripped away. This move comes in response to former President Trump's executive order that allowed for the hiring and firing of federal employees deemed disloyal. The proposed rule ensures that civil service protections cannot be taken away unless employees voluntarily give them up and makes it harder to shift jobs into positions where protections can be removed. Several Republican candidates, including Donald Trump, have made reducing the federal workforce a key component of their campaigns.