Press Releases

Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, the Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Steny Hoyer, the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, hosted a roundtable with major federal employee groups and civil service organizations to coordinate action on the Trump Administration’s unprecedented and dangerous attacks on the federal workforce and the critical services they provide to the American people.

The roundtable follows yesterday’s action by Oversight Democrats in which all Democratic Members sent a letter to President Trump and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Acting Director Charles Ezell requesting detailed information on the Trump Administration’s multi-front purge of nonpartisan civil servants, including independent government watchdogs, law enforcement officials, and other vital federal employees. The urgent request for information comes after Musk and Trump issued potentially illegal deferred resignation offers to federal employees in their attempt to spur a Mass Exodus and politicize the federal workforce and last week’s reporting on the Administration’s purge at the FBI, its plans to reduce the OPM workforce by 70%, and dismantle USAID.

“Co-Presidents Trump and Musk and their cronies have used their first two weeks in office to launch a sweeping attack against the backbone of our government, the nonpartisan civil service,” said Ranking Member Connolly. “This Administration’s utter disregard and disparagement of the federal workforce and their legacy of public service will be to the detriment of our government and the American people it serves. Today, Members heard directly from some of the people on the frontlines of this fight to coordinate our response to the chaos President Trump and his billionaire friends have unleashed on this country. Together, we will hold the line.”

“Our federal workers are real people who do real work that has a real positive impact on the American people,” said Ranking Member Hoyer. “Donald Trump treats them as scapegoats to hide his Administration’s lack of leadership and inability to deliver results. From unilaterally shuttering federal agencies to offering federal employees a buyout of dubious authenticity, Trump’s actions defy the Constitution, the law, and the will of the American people. Our meeting today was vital as we continue to counter Trump’s illegal efforts to threaten federal workers’ livelihoods and the vital services they provide to American families, communities, and businesses.”

Participants in the roundtable included representatives from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Democracy Forward, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the Internation Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

“AFGE expects the next four years to pose the gravest threat to the nonpartisan, merit-based civil service system, since the system was established in 1883 and revised in the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act,” said AFGE President Everett Kelly. “Today’s meeting emphasized that key Members of Congress have the backs of the federal workforce. The Members are committed to defending the integrity of the civil service system and the continuing ability of federal agencies to serve the American people.”

“Schedule F is a shameless attempt to politicize the federal workforce by replacing thousands of dedicated, qualified civil servants with political cronies,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “Our union was born in the fight for a professional, non-partisan civil service, and our communities will pay the price if these anti-union extremists are allowed to undo decades of progress by stripping these workers of their freedoms. Together, we are fighting back.”

“Since Trump took office, his administration has repeatedly demonstrated a blatant disregard for the law in service of its political objectives. Its efforts to politicize the non-partisan, independent federal employees who protect our national and domestic security, ensure our food and medications are safe, deliver essential services to people and communities everywhere, and much more is simply and clearly illegal,” said Democracy Forward President & CEO Skye Perryman. “Democracy Forward will continue to meet the Trump administration with legal challenges when it chooses to break the law and harm people and communities.”

“The 142-year-old merit-based civil service is a pillar of our democracy, ensuring that the day-to-day functions of federal agencies are carried out by qualified experts hired based on their skill, not political affiliation,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald. “We applaud those members of Congress who understand the gravity of the threat and are joining forces to avoid the politicization of our federal workforce. Federal employees took an oath to uphold the Constitution and serve their country and they should not be subject to political loyalty tests. The American people deserve to have government services delivered by qualified, nonpartisan professionals who do their job regardless of which party occupies the White House.”

“Federal workers take an oath to defend our nation and the Constitution and to faithfully discharge the duties of their office,” said IFPTE President Matt Biggs. “Right now, they are facing an Executive Branch leadership that is attacking the pillars and foundations of the civil service by going after federal workers, their collective bargaining rights, and the very essence of the work they’ve committed their careers to. We applaud Congressman Hoyer, Ranking Member Connolly, and Members of the House who are responding and standing up for federal workers, the civil service, and the idea that the government should be accountable and serve the American public.”

“The Trump administration’s actions show utter disregard for the continued, effective operation of the federal government on behalf of the American people, putting at risk public safety, national security, and government services, from emergency response to veterans’ health care to timely receipt of Social Security benefits,” said NARFE National President William “Bill” Shackelford. “The administration is testing new constitutional and legal arguments on the fly, very likely exceeding its legal authority, and waiting for the courts or Congress to tell them no, showing little respect for the rule of law and the concepts of limited government and separation of powers. We need members of Congress to stand against these dangerous and irresponsible actions.”

“It is critical that labor unions have a seat at the table with Congressional leaders as the civil service faces unprecedented attacks,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “The Trump Administration is clear that they will take extreme measures to weaken the civil service and replace qualified federal employees with political loyalists. We must fight back against harmful plans and protect the workers that maintain our military readiness, provide healthcare to our veterans, defend our national security, protect our communities from wildfires, among innumerable other critical services. Thank you to Ranking Members Hoyer and Connolly for their commitment to defending the federal workforce.”