{"id":10169,"date":"2024-09-18T08:20:33","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T12:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?p=10169"},"modified":"2024-09-17T12:30:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T16:30:17","slug":"maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/","title":{"rendered":"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

S<\/span>oon after James Garfield was inaugurated in 1881, a disgruntled job seeker shot him at the train station in Washington, D.C. The assassin was angry because the Garfield administration had not given him a job under the spoils system. Two years later, Congress passed the Pendleton Act which required that candidates for federal government jobs must be selected on their merits as determined by competitive exams. Because these principles are now taken for granted, the Pendleton Act has slipped into the shadows of history.<\/p>\n

If Donald Trump is reelected, he has pledged to turn back the clock 141 years to pre-Pendleton days and fire somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 civil servants. His advisers, funded by megadonors, are busily compiling two lists\u2014 a list of people who are disloyal to Trump and a list of their replacements.<\/p>\n

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has promised that \u201cWe will not go back\u201d so often that it has become a memorable campaign slogan. But far back is where the country will go if even a small number of the proposals contained in Project 2025, the nickname for MAGA plans, become reality.<\/p>\n

Staff working under the auspices of Conservative Partnership Institute<\/a>, widely regarded as the next Trump administration in waiting, have already compiled a database of 20,000 potential MAGA candidates who would replace at least that number of civil servants when Trump fires them. As far as we know, this list has not been vetted to determine whether the pool is qualified. How far along the MAGA brain trust is on compiling an enemies\u2019 list of civil servants is also unclear.<\/p>\n

If Donald Trump is reelected, he has pledged to turn back the clock 141 years to pre-Pendleton days and fire somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 civil servants.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Conservative YouTuber Shawn Ryan recently hosted<\/a> Trump for an interview about his plans for a new administration. Ryan said he had \u201czero trust\u201d in \u201cany government agencies\u2026our Congress, the Senate, anything.\u201d He asked the candidate how he was going to gain back the trust of the American people and whether \u201cwe [are] going to see any held accountable?\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump said the answer was yes, \u201cthey\u2019ve got to be held accountable\u201d because \u201c[t]hey\u2019re crooked people, they\u2019re dishonest people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is the \u201cthey\u201d MAGA policymakers are talking about? According to Trump and his MAGA followers, these federal employees comprise the \u201cdeep state,\u201d those \u201cunelected bureaucrats\u201d who issue \u201cburdensome\u201d regulations during Democratic administrations, and obstruct \u201cregulatory reform\u201d during Republican administrations.<\/p>\n

But in reality, the so-called \u201cdeep state\u201d is composed of the attorneys, scientists, technical experts and others who implement the laws that Congress passed, who have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States and who follow the leadership of whatever President is in office.\u00a0 \u00a0What they won\u2019t do is pursue policies that are unethical or violate the law.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what has Trump and his followers so angry.<\/p>\n

Most of these high-level federal employees have decades of experience managing complex organizations, helping to develop policy and enforcing the law. Government attorneys and watchdogs like the Inspector General and Government Accountability Office \u2013 as well as Congressional oversight \u2013 ensure that federal employees and agency operate ethically and legal.<\/p>\n

Trump and Project 2025 are proposing to replace these experienced experts with MAGA political activists.<\/p>\n

Schedule F Refuses<\/strong> to Die<\/h2>\n

Trump was serious enough about this plan to have issued Executive Order 13957<\/a> a couple of weeks before the November 2020 election. The Trump Order commanded agencies to identify all jobs that were \u201cconfidential\u201d and involved \u201cpolicy,\u201d categorized as \u201cSchedule F\u201d employees. In the months between when it was issued and Trump left office, the agencies ignored it. Candidate Trump has promised to re-establish Schedule F on his first day in office.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s federal personnel enterprise rests on an interpretation of exemptions in federal law<\/a> that remove civil service protections and allow the president to fire at will members of the civil service deemed to be disloyal. MAGA advisers argue that the law gives the president broad authority to select employees whose positions are of a confidential and policymaking, or policy-advocating nature. \u00a0Or in other words the Trump plans would implement a widespread witch hunt across the government, rolling the law back to when presidents awarded spoils to their political supporters.<\/p>\n

The federal law Trump has appropriated, the\u00a0Civil Service Reform Act of 1978<\/a>, is quite vague and potentially open-ended, which is very bad news in an era when conservative judges dominate the Supreme Court and lean toward giving the president extraordinary new powers. Civil servants could be placed on Trump\u2019s hit list if they have a job \u201chas been determined to be of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating character.”<\/p>\n

But even if the job must involve policymaking, what is \u201cpolicy\u201d in this context, as opposed to mere administrative, scientific or expert advice that may contribute to, or be seen as \u201cadvocating\u201d policy development?<\/span> <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Good arguments could be made to defeat Trump\u2019s interpretation. But even if the job must involve policymaking, what is \u201cpolicy\u201d in this context, as opposed to mere administrative, scientific or expert advice that may contribute to, or be seen as \u201cadvocating\u201d policy development? Are scientific findings and conclusions based on empirical research policymaking? Telling the difference between policy and administrative work is usually quite tricky and open to interpretation.<\/p>\n

If and when Trump proceeds, opponents will file lawsuits to stop the firings. MAGA lawyers will fight this litigation, likely rushing to Texas where Trump judges have established a bulwark against litigation unfriendly to MAGA policy. But it will take years for these challenges to play out.<\/p>\n

The Biden administration finalized a rule<\/a> designed to forestall the Trump plan and it will undoubtedly feature in challenges to Trump efforts to implement Schedule F. But, again, if conservative courts read the law as giving the president discretion to cancel civil service protections, the Biden rule won\u2019t mean much.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how the Supreme Court would decide if Trump wins, carries through on his threats, litigation begins, and the cases work their way up the judicial ladder. But cynicism must be built into any prediction about that institution, especially given its recent decision that dramatically expanded presidential immunity from prosecution for carrying out \u201cofficial duties.\u201d Whatever the courts do, if Trump manages to fire even a few hundred civil servants on some hastily assembled enemies\u2019 list, the retaliation would intimidate federal employees and wreak havoc with already fragile morale at virtually any agency that had run-ins with the Trump administration the first time around.<\/p>\n

Ironically, no less a conservative than James Capretta, senior fellow and Milton Friedman Chair at the American Enterprise Institute has written bluntly<\/a> about what pushing government back to pre-Pendleton days will mean:<\/p>\n

Insulation of the professional civil service from political interference, along with promotion of expertise and competence in public administration, are characteristics of high-performing, mature democracies, including most of the U.S.\u2019s closest western allies. In contrast, cronyism and rampant political patronage are seen in countries with ineffective public institutions and feeble democracies. Politicization of public services breeds cynicism and distrust, and yet also does not enhance the effectiveness of government as Trump loyalists claim it would.<\/p>\n

Yet one more reason to head to the polls on Election Day.<\/p>\n

Project 2025\u2014a footnote<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jordan\u2019s excellent article<\/a> on MAGA\u2019s Project 2025 plans for a second Trump presidency and the potentially grievous harm they could wreak on American workers was terrific. It was not only readable and informative on the subjects that preoccupy subscribers to Confined Space<\/em>, it continued the work of leading Democratic candidates to publicize these disturbing ideas.<\/p>\n

Project 2025 was originally sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, among the richest and most active of far-right think tanks. Its 920-page report entitled Mandate for Leadership, The Conservative Promise<\/em><\/a>, was published in 2023 as an oversize 920-page book with the paperback version for sale on the Heritage website. At the Democratic convention, delegates and speakers waved their copies of the red, white, and blue book in the air, using it as a key talking point. As of September 10, 2024, the book\u00a0was listed as \u201csold out<\/a>.\u201d (But never fear: you can still read it online.)<\/p>\n

Once Democrats started publicizing the content of Project 2025, it did not take long for Donald Trump to muddy the waters by disavowing<\/a> the Heritage project, claiming he knew nothing about it or its authors. As usual, the truth is far more serious.<\/p>\n

Over the last few weeks, some excellent investigative reporting<\/a> revealed that the effort to plan Trump\u2019s second term is not limited to a big book of proposals but is actually staffed by some two dozen far-right groups organized, funded, and supervised by the powerful Conservative Partnership Institute<\/a> and the Center for Renewing America<\/a>. These groups are funded by millions of dollars in contributions from wealthy megadonors, and have spun off at least half a dozen other groups that take responsibility for the key elements of the plan, from debunking climate change to politicizing the civil service to prosecuting Trump \u201cenemies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The groups include the key players who are likely to receive top positions in the next Trump administration. They include Mark Meadows, Trump\u2019s last chief of staff; Stephen Miller, his top adviser on immigration, and Russell Vought, the former head of the Office of Management and Budge, policy director for the 2024 Republican platform committee and leading candidate for a new Trump administration\u2019s White House chief of staff.<\/p>\n

Vought made a name for himself in 2021 publishing an op-ed<\/a> in Newsweek <\/em>entitled \u201cIs There Anything Actually Wrong with \u2018Christian Nationalism\u2019?\u201d He wrote: [N]ationalists care greatly about maintaining control over our borders, strengthening our ability to protect ourselves from adversaries, avoiding foreign entanglements that both sap our strength and encroach on the prerogatives of other nations, and preserving a shared consensus as a people with a collective will to survive. \u2026 As for the Christian part of \u201cChristian nationalism,” part of being a nation is a shared religious heritage. And in America, that historical heritage is, of course, Christianity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donors have been so generous that the Conservative Partnership Institute was able to buy a three-story town house on Capitol Hill with conference rooms named for its most prominent contributors. Trump is very aware of this expansive network and has hosted key members of the group at Mar-a-Lago. The sprawling effort is the real Project 2025 in action, and it is poised to make conventional transition committees irrelevant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soon after James Garfield was inaugurated in 1881, a disgruntled job seeker shot him at the train station in Washington, D.C. The assassin was angry because the Garfield administration had not given him a job under the spoils system. Two years later, Congress passed the Pendleton Act which required that candidates for federal government jobs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":10173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[295],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2024-elections"],"yoast_head":"\nMAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service - Confined Space<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If elected President Trump and his MAGA administration have pledged to undermine the civil service inserting MAGA activists.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service - Confined Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If elected President Trump and his MAGA administration have pledged to undermine the civil service inserting MAGA activists.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Confined Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-18T12:20:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rena Steinzor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jbarab\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@jbarab\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rena Steinzor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rena Steinzor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/11ecdd823721582bec43bbd6f91c2bbe\"},\"headline\":\"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-18T12:20:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1741,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2024 Elections\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/\",\"name\":\"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service - Confined Space\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-18T12:20:33+00:00\",\"description\":\"If elected President Trump and his MAGA administration have pledged to undermine the civil service inserting MAGA activists.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1365,\"caption\":\"civil service\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/18\\\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/\",\"name\":\"Confined Space\",\"description\":\"A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5\",\"name\":\"Jordan Barab\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":267,\"caption\":\"Jordan Barab\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg\"},\"description\":\"Jordan Barab was OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2009-2017. He ran AFSCME's health & safety program from 1982-98. He also worked at the House Education and & Labor Committee (2007-2009, 2019-2021) and the Chemical Safety Board.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/jordan-barab-81b0218\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jbarab\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/11ecdd823721582bec43bbd6f91c2bbe\",\"name\":\"Rena Steinzor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/811605bb93d61b351a69a6f9cf779bc613e5d1ef6730f0c39f4aef32544c53fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/811605bb93d61b351a69a6f9cf779bc613e5d1ef6730f0c39f4aef32544c53fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/811605bb93d61b351a69a6f9cf779bc613e5d1ef6730f0c39f4aef32544c53fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rena Steinzor\"},\"description\":\"Rena Steinzor is a retired University of Maryland law professor who has been involved with the implementation of government action to protect public health, worker and consumer safety, and the environment for decades. Her most recent book is American Apocalypse, Six Far-right Groups Waging War on Democracy.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jordanbarab.com\\\/confinedspace\\\/author\\\/rsteinzor\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service - Confined Space","description":"If elected President Trump and his MAGA administration have pledged to undermine the civil service inserting MAGA activists.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service - Confined Space","og_description":"If elected President Trump and his MAGA administration have pledged to undermine the civil service inserting MAGA activists.","og_url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/","og_site_name":"Confined Space","article_published_time":"2024-09-18T12:20:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1365,"url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rena Steinzor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jbarab","twitter_site":"@jbarab","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rena Steinzor","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/"},"author":{"name":"Rena Steinzor","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/11ecdd823721582bec43bbd6f91c2bbe"},"headline":"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service","datePublished":"2024-09-18T12:20:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/"},"wordCount":1741,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg","articleSection":["2024 Elections"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/","name":"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service - Confined Space","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-18T12:20:33+00:00","description":"If elected President Trump and his MAGA administration have pledged to undermine the civil service inserting MAGA activists.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg","width":2048,"height":1365,"caption":"civil service"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2024\/09\/18\/maga-plans-to-capture-the-civil-service\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MAGA Plans to Capture the Civil Service"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/","name":"Confined Space","description":"A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/bcc6bf185c17840824cfc3ef7522f3c5","name":"Jordan Barab","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg","width":400,"height":267,"caption":"Jordan Barab"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/21009251506_93991fca44_w.jpg"},"description":"Jordan Barab was OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2009-2017. He ran AFSCME's health & safety program from 1982-98. He also worked at the House Education and & Labor Committee (2007-2009, 2019-2021) and the Chemical Safety Board.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jordan-barab-81b0218\/","https:\/\/x.com\/jbarab"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/#\/schema\/person\/11ecdd823721582bec43bbd6f91c2bbe","name":"Rena Steinzor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/811605bb93d61b351a69a6f9cf779bc613e5d1ef6730f0c39f4aef32544c53fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/811605bb93d61b351a69a6f9cf779bc613e5d1ef6730f0c39f4aef32544c53fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/811605bb93d61b351a69a6f9cf779bc613e5d1ef6730f0c39f4aef32544c53fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rena Steinzor"},"description":"Rena Steinzor is a retired University of Maryland law professor who has been involved with the implementation of government action to protect public health, worker and consumer safety, and the environment for decades. Her most recent book is American Apocalypse, Six Far-right Groups Waging War on Democracy.","url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/author\/rsteinzor\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/8523604640_0ad167df86_k-2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8s1ZU-2E1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10169"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10177,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10169\/revisions\/10177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}