Disloyalty slur latest in series showing Trump administrations mistrust of feds

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Disloyalty slur latest in series showing Trump administration’s mistrust of feds

By Joe Davidson | Columnist October 2 at 7:00 AM

While Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s accusation about the loyalty of his workforce is the Trump administration’s most outrageous statement about federal employees, it fits a deplorable pattern of verbal aggression against them.

Zinke’s declaration that “I got 30 percent of the crew that’s not loyal to the flag” is an escalation that demands denunciation.
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Zinke’s slur, and another remark comparing the Interior Department to a pirate ship, followed comments and actions that began even before Trump took office and make feds shudder, including:

• Zinke’s suspicious transfer of dozens of senior executives, which is being investigated by the department’s inspector general.
• Trump’s pledge to “drain the swamp.” That can include much of Washington, but feds took it personally.
• Conspiracy theories about a “deep state” of federal bureaucrats determined to sabotage the Trump administration.
• Trump’s talk about a “good shutdown,” which would hurt federal employees more than anyone.
• The Trump transition team’s attempt to get the names of Energy Department staffers who worked on climate change.
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Columnist Joe Davidson covers the federal government in the Federal Insider. It replaced the Federal Diary, which focused on federal employees. Davidson previously was an assistant city editor at The Washington Post and a Washington and foreign correspondent with The Wall Street Journal, where he covered federal agencies and political campaigns. Follow @JoeDavidsonWP

[ret5hd]

1. Communists!!!