The Civil Service and At-Will Employment

In popular culture, the process by which bad employees are fired is far simpler than the reality. That is doubly true in the federal civil service, where there are often steps and processes needed to remove a poor performer. Many argue that these processes are there to insulate career civil servants from political and favoritism-style meddling from appointees, while others suggest these protections stifle the government from acting in service of the views of the voters.

James Sherk is the America First Policy Institute’s Director of the Center for American Freedom. He was a Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Labor Policy Advisor at the Executive Office of the President during President Donald Trump’s term in office. He is the author of the AFPI report titled “Increasing Accountability in the Civil Service.” He joined the show to discuss the report.