I am happy to share with you a bit of good news on our efforts to protect both the civil service and public lands.
As a result of a legal complaint filed by PEER, the Trump administration has retreated from a directive requiring most federal civilian job applicants to write an essay on how they would “help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities.” This small victory is illustrative of our relentless effort to fight all efforts to politicize the civil service.
In another victory, PEER is proud to have organized a successful letter writing campaign as part of a national effort to fend off the great public lands sell off proposed by President Trump and Senator Mike Lee of Utah. The proposal was withdrawn following significant public outcry. This success was a great reminder that when groups work together, we can achieve better results.
Despite these successes, we know our country is in a precarious moment and things are becoming more difficult for public employees who protect the environment. We hope you will take a moment to read this entire newsletter to learn about some of what we have been up to the past two weeks.
Thank you for continuing to be part of our effort.
Sincerely,
Tim Whitehouse
PS: If you haven’t heard, we are in the midst of a summer fundraising campaign where all donations are matched 1:1 up to $70,000. If you have already given to this campaign, thank you so much. If you haven’t, we still have about $50,000 to raise. Thanks so much!
PEER Comments on Proposed Suitability Rule
PEER has submitted comments opposing the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) proposed “suitability and fitness rule.” This proposal provides a path for tenured federal employees to be fired by OPM without protections under the Civil Service Reform Act. It would also undermine whistleblower protections and other important tools for exposing and remedying government violations of law, waste, fraud and abuse. Read More »
Trump’s Worst Nominee Yet
PEER strongly opposes President Trump’s nomination of a hyper-partisan 30-year-old blogger to serve as the U.S. Special Counsel. The nominee, Paul Ingrassia, will head the office responsible for protecting whistleblowers and the federal merit system. He is known for his work defending the January 6th U.S. Capitol rioters and his antisemitic and racist remarks. Ingrassia characterizes career federal employees as “parasites” and “bugmen” who “leech off the diminishing lifeblood of the dying Republic” with “no real skill sets to offer.” Read More »
Trillion Dollar Return on Public Lands – Harvesting Hot Air
Jeff Ruch, PEER’s of counsel, discusses the problems with Secretary Burgum’s new strategic plan for the Department of the Interior, which calls for increasing development of “clean coal, oil, and gas,” “faster and easier permitting,” and expanded mineral extraction, livestock grazing, and logging on federal lands. Among its many problems, the plan proposes to sell national assets below cost or to give them away for free. Read More »
