One flying under the radar poses a fundamental threat to the purpose of the civil service. Civil service procedures can be long and frustrating, but they are designed to guard against arbitrary actions. Allowing political officials to fire feds for no reason seriously damages the principle of a nonpartisan civil service. Last week, House Republicans reinstated the Holman Rule that allows Congress to cut the pay of individual federal employees down to $1. There are better ways to toss the bad apples than gutting civil service protections for the many as Rokita would do.

Source: Washington Post January 12, 2017 12:07 UTC