(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



TACO's Swamp [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-06-18

Even cartoonists in 2016 knew that Trump's claim to "drain the swamp" was a cover for doing just the opposite. The phrase has been in use since the 1980's to mean reducing the influence of special interests and lobbyists. Trump is now taking bribes from them right out in the open, with Republicans saying that it must be okay because he's doing it in clear view. It's like saying it's okay to rob a bank if you don't wear a mask.

The nature of the swamp changed for Trump's second term. Now it means the leaders of agencies and the experienced staff that make the agency function. Bureaucrats and bureaucracies are the buzzwords.

The agency heads are normally changed with a new administration, but Trump didn't do some, he did all of them. Then with the help of DOGE, the experts had to go to be replaced by ignorant loyalists.

In April, Trump followed through on on his threat to put 50,000 federal employees on Schedule F Policy/Career, to make it possible to just fire people without cause. The purported goal was to "dismantle government bureaucracy," and the "deep state" and get rid of "rogue bureaucrats."

Somehow, Trump and his minions have been allowed to make bureaucrat and bureaucracy curse words. Like there's something wrong with it. In business, it's called management. Somebody has to direct the company. In government, the same is needed for an agency to function. Dismantling government bureaucracy means the agency won't function anymore, made even worse with positions filled by Trump loyalists.

Trump did just a fact sheet on April 18th, with no executive order, called President Donald J. Trump Creates a New Federal Employee Category to Enhance Accountability.

At the end of the fact sheet is, you guessed it, "DRAINING THE SWAMP."

"President Trump is delivering on his promise to dismantle the deep state and reclaim our government from Washington corruption."

How many lies and buzzwords and deflections can be put into a one sentence paragraph?

He then says that in his first term he did an executive order to reclassify government workers as Schedule F. Biden revoked that order and Trump reinstated it on January 20th., his first day in office.

This Schedule Policy/Career is over and above that. You don't follow his policy, you get fired. If you want to have a career, sign the loyalty oath.

From the fact sheet. "These will serve as at-will employees, without access to cumbersome adverse action procedures or appeals, overturning Biden Administration regulations that protected poor performing employees.."

Hiring will be done merit based. Guess what? There is an agency called the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.

"One of the MSPB's primary statutory functions is to protect federal merit systems against partisan political and other prohibited personal practices by adjudicating employee appeals over which the Board has been given jurisdiction."

The Merit System principles are actually a law, 5 U.S.C. ยง 2301. It doesn't seem to be stopping Trump.

This has all been superceeded by a 30 page memorandum (PDF) from the Office of Personnel and Management, dated May 29th, titled: MERIT HIRING PLAN.

Now, in order to get hired, you have to be passionate, patriotic, and no DEI hires.

"Implementing skills-based hiring, eliminating unnecessary degree requirements...selected based on their merit and competence, not their skin color or academic pedigree."

Oh boy, only stupid people need apply as long as you pledge allegience to Trump. Another full page on eliminating DEI because it's racial discrimination. Then, it shows up on every page after that, and we were only on page 12.

Then Appendix 1 is HR Best Practices That Agencies Must Adopt. 7 pages. Then Appendix 2 Primer on Custom Job Postings. After a couple of tables on job types, Appendix 5 Examples of Technical and Alternative Assessments. It lists all the tests and ways of looking at qualifications for jobs, but either and some not all based on the job type, and actual tests. The last two pages are on USA Hire, an online system and database that allows people to apply using mobile phones and computers.

It doesn't drain the swamp, it just creates a new and real Deep State in the guise of getting rid of one. Get rid of professionals and replace them with loyalists.

At GS-05 and above pay grades, there are four written essays. One question is: "How would you help to advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role?" Absolutely incredible. So blatently partisan.

It says in this Talking Points Memo article that the Merit Systems Protection Board was already neutered by the Supreme Court, before this memorandum by the OPM. It seems they're talking about a June, 2021 decision, Collins v. Yellen. It involved the Federal Housing Finance Agency, in control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which Trump has just said he wants to make public corporations at the whim of shareholders, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It's all about a president's removal power of heads of agencies and apparently Trump did that to the MSPB, which would have protected hiring principles, and installed a loyalist. Same at the NLRB.

On April 18th, Trump posted on Truth Social, "If these government workers refuse to advance the policy interests of the President, or are engaging in corrupt behavior, they should no longer have a job." Clear as a bell again. Fealty to the king. Non-MAGA need not apply. Especially Harvard graduates. Although I can't think why any Harvard graduate would ever want to join the Trump administration.

The American Federation of Government Employees sued Trump on Jan.29th over the reinstatement of Schedule F for Policy/Career employees, because Trump's plan would destroy the merit-based system in place, with the new Schedule Policy/Career designation. That case is on hold until July 7th, waiting for the Federation to file a reply to the government's motion dismiss. Court proceedings seem to take forever.

Besides the American Federation of Government Employees, there are cases by National Treasury Employees Union, the Government Accountability Project, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. All one this Schedule F Policy/Career move.

The OPM May 29th memo is the implementation plan for Schedule F Policy/Career.

This is how Trump is turning working federal bureaucracies into non-functional rooting crowds to tell him how great he is. He doesn't care as long as they promote fossil fuels, reverse anything positive about battling climate change, remove regulations like at the EPA for pollution standards and permitting, remove financial regulation constraints so we can have another mortgage crisis, get rid of the FDIC and CFPB, and weaponize the whole justice system to attack everyone on Trump's enemies list.

These are a few of Trump's favorite things. Trump wants to create his own army of loyalists. They'll probably give him a better parade.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/18/2326014/-TACO-s-Swamp?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/