Praise for the Little People, A Little Late
It seems like all departing political appointees go out of their way to compliment the career federal employees they worked with. (And doesn't it always come out sounding like they were a little surprised that turned out to be the case?) But it's not every day that an appointee praises the career folks when he's leaving at least partly because he was accused of playing a part in firing a bunch of them for political reasons lost their confidence by, allegedly, allowing the politicization of hiring and firing decisions at the department. (Note: This entry has been updated. See comments below for an explanation.)
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Government Executive Staff Correspondent Alyssa Rosenberg takes a look at news affecting the management and operations of the massive federal bureaucracy.
Um, the Attorney General fired other political appointees: U.S. attorneys to be exact. Are you aware of a scandal in which he fired actual competitively appointed career DOJ folks? Something that rises to the level of Travelgate would be a real scandal worth the ink spent on this blog.
Aaron Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007 7:16 AMSurely you are not suggesting that U.S. attorneys are career employees. Granted, a few of them were at the time of their appointments, but they are generally identified by the senior senator of the President's party before appointment and confirmed by the Senate. Fortunately, we have a truly independent U.S. attorney in Chicago, but he is the exception rather than the rule. And, if the Democrats retake the White House in the next election, one of the first orders of business will be to replace all of the Republican U.S. attorneys with Democratic ones, in most cases without regard to performance.
Bruce Rodman Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007 8:17 AMPrecisely which career employees were fired for political reasons? By now everyone (especially you) should be aware that U.S. Attorneys are POLITICAL appointees, not career prosecutors. I am certainly no fan of Gonzales and this administration, but the fact is that these folks serve at the pleasure of the President. That's not supposed to be the same as serving at the pleasure of Karl Rove, however, which is why we have this big brouhaha. But it has nothing to do with career people.
What I'd really like to learn more about is the apparent politicization of the hiring process at DoJ -- both for interns as well as career staff. That's the story of real interest and relevance to rank and file Feds, but so far I haven't seen much on that one. Not as sexy as firing US Attorneys, I guess... even though it's arguably much more important to your readership. How about some journalism on a real story, instead of throw-away lines?
U. Can Dobetter Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007 8:32 AMPolitical appointees work at the pleasure of the administration. They can be terminated without any reason.
However, some prosecutors were slandered when they were accused of unsatisfactory work. Political firings are ok. slander is not.
Wise Old Owl Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007 9:03 AMI think you get the message. Mr. Gonzales did not fire CAREER employees.
Keith Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007 9:32 AMGood points here. I wrote too hastily. Neither Gonzales or anybody else fired career employees for political reasons that I'm aware of. My apologies. I'm going to update the item so that it reflects more accurately the general idea I was trying to get across.
Tom Shoop Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007 9:42 AM