Exclusive: Trump could seek new law to purge government of Obama appointees

[TomCADem]

Source: Reuters

If he wins the presidency, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump would seek to purge the federal government of officials appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and could ask Congress to pass legislation making it easier to fire public workers, Trump ally, Chris Christie, said on Tuesday.

* * *
Christie also told the gathering that changing the leadership of the Environmental Protection Agency, long a target of Republicans concerned about over regulation, would be a top priority for Trump should he win in November.

Trump has previously vowed to eliminate the EPA and roll back some of America's most ambitious environmental policies, actions that he says would revive the U.S. oil and coal industries and bolster national security.

Christie added that the Trump team wants to let business people serve in government part time without having to give up their jobs in the private sector. Trump frequently says he is better equipped to be president because of his business experience.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-purge-exclusive-idUSKCN10003A

[63splitwindow]

1. This man could be truly dangerous...

[elleng]

2. He COULD, I suppose,

but how foolish is he?

'Political' appointees hand in their resignations at the end of every administration. 'Leadership' goes every 4 years.

[DonCoquixote]

3. is this a surprise

If trump wins, government will be a joke, and the private sector that moves in will be a hungry beats that will eat us to the marrow.

[SheilaT]

4. Does he understand the difference between civil service employees and

appointees? Probably not.

Read "Destiny of the Republic" by Candace Millard. It sheds light on why the civil service is as it is.

[JCMach1]

5. Back to the 19th Century spoils system...

No thank you :grrr:

[Hugin]

6. Sure, would you expect anything less from a ...

Right-Wing Fascist, like Il Cheeto so obviously is?

[not fooled]

7. Any Federal employee stupid enough to vote Repuke...

...might as well just skip the intermediary steps and go straight to living in a cardboard box.

[sofa king]

8. April 7, 1933

[sofa king]

20. To elaborate:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_for_the_Restoration_of_the_Professional_Civil_Service

This law re-established a "national" civil service and allowed tenured civil servants to be dismissed. Further, civil servants who were not of "Aryan descent" as well as opponents of the Nazi regime ("Civil servants whose previous political activities afford no assurance that they will at all times give their fullest support to the national state&quot were forced to retire from the civil service.

[billhicks76]

9. Where The Hell Is Hillary?

This is getting dangerous. Why is she not attacking all of them 24/7?

[ButterflyBlood]

10. Oh for fuck's sake just read her Twitter

Hillary is rapid fire HAMMERING Trump and the Republicans on it. I actually count more than 24 hits on Trump and the Republicans in the last day. So that's more than one per hour. and here's just one section of her site. See how many hits on him appear here: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets

Nothing except willful ignorance could lead one to believe Hillary isn't at the forefront attacking Trump.

[truthisfreedom]

11. Hahahahaaaa. You tell 'em!

Grr!

[billhicks76]

13. Well Then Why Is Media Not Covering It Then? Thats The Question

The Rethugs are out of control. Getting closer to Nazis every day. They need to be fought not tweeted.

[Stonepounder]

16. And just how is Hillary supposed to force the media to cover her?

The media has been gleefully propping Trump up since day 1. What makes you think they are going to change any time soon?

[yodermon]

18. She could hold a press conference n/t

[Stonepounder]

21. Yeah, and they spend 30 seconds reporting on the press conference and go back to Trump. n/t

[billhicks76]

27. So...Do It Anyway

Please tell me you haven't already given up. There are many creative ways to combat media infatuation with Trump. The words from Clinton would have to be caustic yes and even over the top but that's how you get attention. Trump figured that out so why can't we? Are we just going to whine as he seizes the spotlight? No. We better not. Maybe some of us have more to lose if Trump gets elected. Some of us could have our freedom on the line. That's why we supported Bernie. It was real life to us not just online braggadocio. I fully expect now that we have our nominee for Clintonites to be taking this seriously and putting their back into it. Excuses are for children. We have a job to do.

[billhicks76]

26. Yes A Press Conference

Obama's biggest mistake and failure was not using the bully pulpit like Reagan did to call out the opposition and do a run around of the Congress and the Media by going directly to the people. There is no place for being timid now. Are people just gonna sit here and "hope" Clinton gets elected because they feel she deserves to? Good luck with that. We have to fight. Don't rely on pols...actually they keep going the wrong direction anyway. Remember all the smug overconfidence in the primary? I recall no one taking Bernie seriously and stating he had no chance of even placing close and they had pols to prove it. And look what happened. He almost won. The lesson is to never be content and to always fight and be proactive. And to any rude complainers I can tell you we organize against Trumps policies all the time where I'm at on the ground at the grass roots level and get airtime locally so please take your self-centered criticisms questioning our resolve elsewhere...you're hurting not helping. It's amazing how quiet Clintons presence is right now when we need her. Her husband is a pro at creating media buzz. I'm curious what they are waiting for.

[billhicks76]

24. Same Old Tired Mantra

I like many others are tired of excuses. Take control of your destiny. If we want Media to cover something then we get pro-active. Am I also to assume that we are supposed to accept nothing changing because you can just blame republican obstructionism and go about your day. Let's not think pathetically or else that's what we will become. So over excuses.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

17. how many on the fence voters tweet?

Honestly, tweeting is fine for the yute of the country, but it does nothing for the majority of voters who are not politically involved.

The only reason some people follow Il Cheeto is because of the entertainment value. Even I am almost tempted, but for refusing to tweet for professional reasons and the fear that my signing on increases his numbers.

[yardwork]

23. Why aren't you helping? All you do is criticize Hillary.

[billhicks76]

25. I Do Everyday

Do you? All I hear are excuses. Commenting online isn't "doing" anything. Get off your high horse and deal with the issues and stop being so thinskinned. Some of is are trying to win an election and don't have time for being over sensitive. That attitude wouldn't last 5 seconds where a job needs to be done and definitely not in any of the political campaigns I've served in. The point is stop giving Trump the mic and all the spotlight. If we don't fill the vacuum he will. If you care about defeating him then you will understand this.

[truthisfreedom]

12. Hey! Reuters said "Democratic" President Obama instead of the insult version that repukes always use

How refreshing.

[bucolic_frolic]

14. Nothing but thugs in suits trying to grab everything for themselves

Ending EPA and environmental protection, grabbing national parks for exploitation

That's what this hatred is about

We are in the fight for our lives, our livelihoods, our country

We must fight their anger and hatred with everything we have

[uawchild]

15. TRUMP ~ ERDOGAN.

This desire to purge bears a striking resemblance to what's happening now in Turkey.

[jpak]

19. These Are Dangerous Times

[bucolic_frolic]

22. The Hallmark of Dictatorship

This is a really big deal. We have Civil Service for a reason, to find dedicated public
servants who excel in their careers, and to provide continuity in the way government
does business. Previously the Spoils System flushed appointees with each administration's
demise to install political appointees who were not experienced and were often hacks.
Talk about wasting government resources!

Purging the government of appointees is sort of akin to Party Purges in the Soviet
Union.

The Progressive Era, pre and post Robber Baron, fought for a Civil Service System.

Why do we have to upturn everything to suit Christie, and Trump, and Big Business?

[matt819]

28. Political appointees

Serve at the pleasure of the president. No laws need to be changed to remove them or accept their resignations.

The repugnant Chris Christie was talking about changing laws to remove actual civil servants based on their political affiliations. That's unconstitutional and is simply not going to happen. That doesn't make the proposal any less vile. These are the proposals of a dictator, of the third reich, of truly insane people.

That said, I believe Hillary should in fact fire every republican political appointee. I think they may be holdovers from the bush administration of even Obama appointments. In the current climate, they cannot remain in their jobs.