Tag: Ethics

Inside the White House Plan to Plant Cronies All Over

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Inside the White House Plan to Plant Cronies All Over

Some within the Trump administration have espoused giving the president near-absolute control over the federal workforce, a step that could backfire anytime the White House is held by the opposing political party. According to an internal 2017 White House to-do list, first mentioned by the New York Times and obtained by POGO, one Trump appointee proposed exploring legal theories that the “president [has] inherent authority to dismiss any federal employee,” unconstrained by whistleblower and other statutory protections passed by Congress. That would mark a break with the way America’s system of government has functioned for over a century.

“What exactly will this mean for us”: EPA Office Lost After IG Shake Up

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

“WHAT EXACTLY WILL THIS MEAN FOR US”: EPA OFFICE LOST AFTER IG SHAKE UP

Eighty-three pages of correspondence illustrate an agency watchdog caught off guard, with next to no warning from the White House, coming up with plans on the fly. Not only had Trump weakened oversight of both EPA and DOD, he effectively removed Fine as Chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), creating a void of leadership overseeing the government’s coronavirus response. As a pandemic grips the nation, and the massive governmentwide relief effort including EPA and  DOD faces scrutiny over policy rollbacks and misuse of taxpayer funds, none of these IG offices has a leader that can devote their full energy to oversight of its programs.