https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...r-to-fire-scientists-like-fauci/#7e40323a4252
Trump’s New Executive Order May Make It Easier To Fire Scientists Like Fauci
The Order will create a new category of federal employee called “Schedule F” who can be essentially fired at will by the administration. Moving government scientists, economists, managers and other key decision makers who are currently in “career” positions and as a result aren’t as easily dismissible by Trump into these new Schedule F positions could make previously non-partisan federal positions a whole lot more partisan. It could also significantly expand the power of Trump.
The expressed concern is that this new Schedule F order will allow the President to more easily get rid of people who don’t do exactly what the President wants and install in their place people who do. Take Anthony Fauci, MD for example. He has served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984. Before 2017, he occupied the position through five different Presidents with very different personalities, three of them Republican and two of them Democrat. This has been because Fauci has occupied more of a “career position” rather than a purely politically appointed one. Such career positions tend to have appointment and advancement criteria that are consistent and remain independent across different Presidential administrations.
Such “career positions” are important because they allow federal workers to focus on serving the country rather than just a particular President. They also facilitate continuity between Presidencies. Can you imagine what would happen if all decision makers in the federal government were to turn over every four or eight years? That would make the government more like the cast of Game of Thrones. Each time the Presidency changes, assuming that a President isn’t installed for life as has been done in Russia, a whole new set of people would have to spend time figuring out how everything worked.
Before the advent of Schedule F, those in career positions like Fauci have been able to carry over knowledge and experience gained during one Presidential administration to subsequent administrations. This has helped establish continuity, which is especially important in science. You don’t want scientific organizations like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to have to keep re-learning what they already know. That would be like you waking up every morning and wondering, “hmmm, how exactly does this toilet thing work? And where does my head go?”
Being in a “career position” has also allowed Fauci to push back when Trump has said things and demanded things not really supported by scientific evidence. That’s because Fauci doesn’t have to sit in his office worrying every day, “will Trump fire me? How will I feed my family? Will I have to start making crafts on Etsy to pay my bills?” No, instead, he is able to openly disagree when Trump has made statements like the U.S. is “rounding the corner” on the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic as seen in this Reuters news report:
Trump’s New Executive Order May Make It Easier To Fire Scientists Like Fauci
The Order will create a new category of federal employee called “Schedule F” who can be essentially fired at will by the administration. Moving government scientists, economists, managers and other key decision makers who are currently in “career” positions and as a result aren’t as easily dismissible by Trump into these new Schedule F positions could make previously non-partisan federal positions a whole lot more partisan. It could also significantly expand the power of Trump.
The expressed concern is that this new Schedule F order will allow the President to more easily get rid of people who don’t do exactly what the President wants and install in their place people who do. Take Anthony Fauci, MD for example. He has served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984. Before 2017, he occupied the position through five different Presidents with very different personalities, three of them Republican and two of them Democrat. This has been because Fauci has occupied more of a “career position” rather than a purely politically appointed one. Such career positions tend to have appointment and advancement criteria that are consistent and remain independent across different Presidential administrations.
Such “career positions” are important because they allow federal workers to focus on serving the country rather than just a particular President. They also facilitate continuity between Presidencies. Can you imagine what would happen if all decision makers in the federal government were to turn over every four or eight years? That would make the government more like the cast of Game of Thrones. Each time the Presidency changes, assuming that a President isn’t installed for life as has been done in Russia, a whole new set of people would have to spend time figuring out how everything worked.
Before the advent of Schedule F, those in career positions like Fauci have been able to carry over knowledge and experience gained during one Presidential administration to subsequent administrations. This has helped establish continuity, which is especially important in science. You don’t want scientific organizations like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to have to keep re-learning what they already know. That would be like you waking up every morning and wondering, “hmmm, how exactly does this toilet thing work? And where does my head go?”
Being in a “career position” has also allowed Fauci to push back when Trump has said things and demanded things not really supported by scientific evidence. That’s because Fauci doesn’t have to sit in his office worrying every day, “will Trump fire me? How will I feed my family? Will I have to start making crafts on Etsy to pay my bills?” No, instead, he is able to openly disagree when Trump has made statements like the U.S. is “rounding the corner” on the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic as seen in this Reuters news report:
