FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: February 8, 2021
Contact: Mariama Eversley, eversley@therevolvingdoorproject.org
This week, the Senate begins its historic second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump centered on his attempt to overthrow the 2020 presidential election results by inciting an insurrection on the US Capitol that ultimately resulted in five deaths. Yet, rather than a singularly heinous act unmoored from the rest of his presidency, Trump’s attempted coup was the culmination of years of attacks on the federal government. Today, the Revolving Door Project released a memo, “Existential Threat to the Civil Service: Politicization Under Trump,” which charts Trump’s long war on the people and agencies that constitute the backbone of our country.
Trump entered office with the goal to weaken the federal civil service and stack the federal workforce with loyalists. During his tenure, he made significant strides towards that aim by instituting hiring freezes, retaliating against career staff suspected of disloyalty, increasing political appointees’ control over the hiring process, rolling back regulatory forms meant to protect the environment while enacting others that increased corporate power, and forcing out hundreds of scientists and other experts.
The events of January 6th threw into stark relief the extent of Trump’s contempt for our democracy and the lengths to which he was willing to go to upend it entirely for his personal gain. The Senate impeachment trial, however, is just the first step towards holding him accountable. Once it is over, President Biden and congressional Democrats must not stop working to counter the deep damage Trump wrought on the federal government. They must work quickly to prioritize rebuilding the federal government back better and insulating it from any and all potential future political attacks. The fate of our nation depends upon it.
READ THE FULL MEMO: Existential Threat to the Civil Service: Politicization Under Trump
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Header image: “United States Capitol” by Jack Parrott is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0