NPS

Senior Counsel

Jeff serves as Senior Counsel to PEER, where he specializes in civil service, scientific integrity, and whistleblower protection issues. Jeff was PEER’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2019 and its Pacific Director from 2019 to 2025. Previously, he was the Policy Director and a staff attorney at the Government Accountability Project, representing whistleblowers from both the public and private sectors. Before coming to DC, Jeff worked in California state government for 17 years, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. Jeff served stints as a deputy district attorney and an appellate court clerk. He is a graduate of the California Correctional Officers Academy.

Federal Employee First Amendment Lawsuit Advances

by Michelle Shaffer | January 12, 2026
Right of Federal Workers to Engage in Off-Duty Activism at Stake ...

Letter re: Pausing Leases for Offshore Wind Projects

by Michelle Shaffer | December 29, 2025
DESCRIPTION: Letter to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and House Committee on Natural Resources re: pausing leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the United States TO: Chairman Mike Lee, Chairman Bruce Westerman, Ranking Member Martin ...

Letter re: Trump plan for NPS employee performance rating limits

by PEER | December 17, 2025
Letter in opposition to Trump Administration’s reported plan to impose artificial limits on performance ratings for National Park Service employees ...

COMMENTARY | East Wing Demolition Metaphor for Trump Governance

by Jeff Ruch | October 27, 2025
The bulldozers and backhoes have razed the East Wing of the White House to make way for President Trump’s big, beautiful ballroom. Characteristically, Trump has barreled ahead, heedless of the law, tradition, or concerns about historic protection and good taste ...
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