Three-fourths said that federal employees should not be subject to firing at-will. Image: MDart10/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe Partnership for Public Service has found what it called “alarming” decreases in the public’s views of the government, although still “a strong consensus that we need a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service.”
A survey found only 23 percent of Americans trust the federal government and only 15 percent believe it is transparent, down from 35 and 21 percent, respectively, in a similar poll in 2022.
Meanwhile, the percentage of those who believe the government is incompetent rose by 10 percentage points to 66 percent.
“This downward trend has serious consequences for the country and for the health of our democracy,” the Partnership said.
However, “90% of Americans value a federal government that “functions effectively” as an important part of a vibrant democracy, and 91% believe that having a competent civil service is essential to democracy.” Even more, 95 percent, “believe civil servants should be hired based on merit, not partisan loyalty, and serve the people more than any individual president.”
About nine-tenths also said they want a nonpolitical civil service and that the government is less effective when decisions are driven by politics, with about three-fourths saying that federal employees should not be subject to firing at-will.
The language in the survey echos the ongoing debate of a potential future Schedule F. The annual defense authorization bill (HR-8070) currently making its way through Congress contains a range of provisions that would affect federal employment policies, some of them government-wide and some affecting only DoD. So far, the House blocked an amendment that would block the implementation of a future Schedule F, which could see tens of thousands of feds in the competitive service moved into the excepted service – effectively making them at-will; although related provisions could still be added in the Senate.
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