As a retired career civil servant, I would like to reflect on the role of these individuals in our present federal crisis. It may very well be that our career CS’s will be the people to save us from this current corrupt administration.
We know that when the current administration took control, they did their best to rid themselves of all Obama-related persons ever appointed to leadership positions in our federal government. Perhaps the fact that DJT is ignorant of government functions and roles, combined with his inept appointees and his incurious nature, explains the fact that they didn’t seem to tune into the roles of the Inspectors General. At least two of these IG’s have done direct outreach to Congress because of the alarming nature of things they have observed in this degenerate White House. These are people doing their jobs, keeping their heads down until it becomes necessary to act in a direct (and difficult) way. I understand at least one of them is a holdover from the Obama administration.
When I was a manager in the State of Wisconsin system, I heard much cynicism from non-civil servants about “cushy jobs” and “paper-pushers,” even as I worked with people who put their own safety on the line to care for people in psychiatric crises. Most career civil servants that I’ve known truly care about doing a good job, safeguarding the taxpayer dollar, and making their local, state or federal government better. There were 22 million government employees working in the US in 2012, the most recent report I could find online today.
Please take a moment today to recognize the civil servants you may know, and be thankful that these non-elected, nonpartisan jobs exist and are filled by honorable people; they may just rescue us all from the Trump touch that brings death to all it encounters.