WASHINGTON – less than two weeks after his mandate, President Donald Trump launches a war against his government, creating a deep feeling of fear in the federal workforce – and benefiting from federal aid – testing the borders of his power to change the range, function and non -party nature of the government without Congress.
In the first place, Trump used that Trump had tried to strangle the financing for a wide range of local and External assistance Programs, Make Tens of thousands of federal workers, and launched a more pressure campaign to resign from their positions.
Two federal judges It has prevented the freezing of local spending, and in the face of public screaming, Trump OMB Memorandum canceled Its implementation this week – but the main executive matter remains in effect, as Federal workers left his age to choose between the states from the courts and the president.
In talks with NBC News, nearly twenty federal workers described the climate of fear, confusion, suspicion and anger in federal agencies over the past two weeks. A number of civil service employees described a feeling that they are being tracked and monitored in an active way in a foreign way before Trump’s return to power.
While the confidence of Americans in the government has eroded for decades-the vast majority say they do not trust that Washington will always be the right thing or most of the time in Gallop-Trump’s long-term Republican opinions on how the federal footprint shrinks and restructuring. But critics say that taking a heavy ideological hammer to the government will make it less effective, less efficient and less protection than partisan influence.
Nearly 60 employees From the American Agency for International Development, it was placed on an administrative vacation after Trump issued funding to freeze requests for global aid programs, and his assistants in active discussions about a unilateral competitor The agency folds the Ministry of Foreign Affairs It is a step that critics say cannot be done without enacting Congress legally. The agency’s website went on the Internet on Saturday.
“The organized idea behind what they are doing is that Trump wants to be king,” said Senator Chris van Holin, DMD. “He does not want to be responsible before the law, and the American people are harmed.”
Van Holin added that Trump’s actions may make it difficult for the president to collect enough votes to avoid the government’s closure six weeks from now.
“This raises the question about whether we can move forward in any intention in good faith” in a spending. “I mean, we are going through these negotiations to obtain a compromise, but President Sherry chooses what he loves and ignores the rest.”
Trump’s allies in Congress, like the beginners Senator Jim Banks, p.
“The American people voted with an overwhelming majority in favor of President Trump in part because of his promise to clarify government waste and restore proper instinct to the White House,” Banka said in a statement to the NBC News. “With national debts worth $ 36 trillion, I welcome his administration to ensure spending every tax dollar responsibly on the agenda he promised.”
All of this amounts to a major bet that the public will reward Trump and the Republicans to follow a diagonal and burning approach to reshaping the federal government, even if he takes money from voter pockets or government jobs and local government depends on it. The president’s allies say the person facing the least dangerous is Trump, who is not constitutionally qualified to run for his re -election.
“Until now the approach was huge,” said one of the republican workers.
But the operative said that they housed “some anxiety” about On Friday, the FBI officials were expelled This indicates that this may be more problematic for Trump and his management from abroad more than within the government.
“When it comes to intellectual response, [Trump] This person said: “He should not really care.” “It does not run again and leads to a decrease in the size of the federal workforce is part of its mandate [Vice President] Dinar [Vance] [and] In occupied the current jobs to defend the actions of this administration if there is a violent reaction in the future. “
In some cases, Trump is not waiting for attrition. In addition to the rejection of the leaders of the FBI, up to twenty prosecutors of the Ministry of Justice who worked in the cases of “Capitol Siege” – those that include the defendants from the January 6 attack on Congress. Trump Sorry for most people He was convicted of the crimes of January 6 and exceeded the rulings of others.
Federal workers were advised to confront “Negative consequences“If they are not said to report the colleagues whose work touches” diversity, fairness and integration ” – and refer to” sound instinct “instead of evidence, Trump blamed A fatal outdoor collision between a regional commercial plane and a military helicopter on “Dei” in the Federal Aviation Administration.
Some federal employees who spoke to NBC news say.
Trump enabled the billionaire Elon Musk, the volunteer president of the Ministry of Governmental efficiency, and his allies “Requesting Operations” This would push federal civil service employees during September in exchange for their resignation. Workers have received almost daily contacts about the “deferred resignation” option directly from OPM and from the agency’s employees at the request of OPM.
On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency employees were reminded in an e -mail that they could be expelled at any time if they had worked in the government for a period of less than a year.
“If you want the government to operate, you will not attack federal employees on a daily basis with psychological warfare,” said a director for a long time in the federal government. “You want them to show motives. This is not the way to do this.”
Noah Peters, the chief adviser to OPM and who was the only person who was copied by name on an email to human resources managers about the deferred resignation program, did not respond to a series of questions from NBC News.
The US International Development Agency official said that colleagues were “drawn” by the new OPM email system, which apparently allows the Federal Agency to contact all federal employees directly.
This person said: “All communication from OPM is used to go directly through the agency and then the agencies will differentiate it.” “Many people are drawn before, because this has not happened before. And so it is like, are you trying to control me? Are you trying to monitor my arrival? What are you trying to do?”
This person added that while they agreed that the federal government needs to be changed, trying to impose tremendous changes and turmoil very quickly so as not to actually improve the civil service.
“The change takes time,” said this person. “There can be positive effects if it is intelligent. Many people welcome this. But this is just the fear of promotion. Not more than [being] scary. … that’s not how it works. I mean, if you are Elon Musk, it works in this way. But this is not how it works in the government. “
At the American forest service, a civilian employee said that one of the highest told them in response to their questions and concerns about the changing directions to maintain a low level.
This person “tell me that, then [they] “I was in my shoes, the best thing for me is to be low, keep my head down, and just do my work,” said the forest service. “What I can somewhat understand, it’s not a really great answer.”
The Republicans said that there is a great danger to Trump’s actions, given that civil service staff are considered non -sympathetic to the wider population while the president should not search for his position again and face any possible personally a voter reaction.
One of Trump’s ally said: “It should not be good, but I think his goal is exactly what he said – to drain the swamp.” “A literally clean house for functional bureaucrats there. I think the danger is low – very low.”
This person added: “Any interruption in the service will be related to the direct payments of people and this is mostly automatic.” “And if we reduce the amount of money that is spent mainly, I am not sure that many will feel it.”
Representative Riley Moore, RW.VA, said that Trump’s efforts to redirect the federal workforce revolve around its alignment directly with his view of the world.
Moore said: “What President Trump is seeking to do is to increase the efficiency and results of the American taxpayers and its tax dollars that are spent to support our society safely and basic services.” “At the same time, the president seeks to correct the statement of the task and the guidelines of these departments and agencies to redirect them to the first Orthodox of America.”
But Nira Tandin, who was a consultant to local policy of President Joe Biden, said that there was tension between the anti -government crusaders in the Trump district and the voters who put him at the summit in November. This was reflected in the reverse reaction he obtained from the OMB memo, which was interpreted by many civil service employees, legislators and beneficiaries of federal assistance to request a stopping in financing everything starting with local firefighting departments and police programs.
Tandin said: “The main challenge for their coalition is that people are working and billionaires, and they are in direct conflict.” “I don’t think all of these white working class and the Latin working class who voted for it like, do you know what? I really want to lose my health care.”
Whether Trump can raise the federal workforce and reduce trillion dollars from the budget without hurting its voters – and the Republicans they represent in Congress – still should be seen.
Kush Desai, White House spokesperson, told NBC News that Trump would be able to do this.
“President Trump has received a loud state to simplify our huge government to better meet the needs of the American people,” Disai said. “Each lever from the executive and legislative authority will be used to present it.”
