America is built on merit. Every American innovation – from our eponymous Dream to the Moon landing, the AI boom, and more – was, is, and will be driven by that same merit. It’s how we went from a small collection of British colonies to a global superpower leading the world in countless fields. Our private sector relies on merit-driven innovation to propel us forward. Sure, nepotism in business exists, but for every nepo-baby out there is a hardworking everyday American that can rise from his or her station to national greatness.
The federal government should reflect this reality. While nepotism in our federal government is illegal, it still occurs at every level. The only way to defeat it is to return to a merit-based system, but that change must come from the top. Recognizing this, the Trump administration has moved to solidify the federal employment appeals process under the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM). This will bring us closer to achieving that goal while further streamlining our federal government.
Recently, the Trump administration announced two new rules impacting OPM and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The first proposal, which the legacy media immediately attacked as a power grab by the Trump administration, would transfer former employee appeals released due to a reduction in force (RIF) from MSPB to OPM. This means that, should the rule go into effect, employees terminated under an RIF would take their appeal directly to OPM and the White House instead of going through an insulated, quasi-judicial board.
The second proposed rule would transfer MSPB’s authority over suitability firings to OPM. This means that an federal employee who was fired would have to go to the White House to appeal the decision. This reflects the real world and how the private sector works, rather than creating a parallel dimension for a different class of people who just so happen to work for the federal government. Additionally, this new rule would help to ensure that the best of the best are working in our federal government without having to engage with the bureaucratic nonsense that has infected it for decades.
These changes cannot come quickly enough, but we need to understand why these are steps in the right direction. The MSPB is an independent government agency established in 1979 by the Civil Service Reform Act that historically adjudicated appeals for fired or demoted federal employees. It was created during the expansion of the federal government we witnessed in the Cold War era, and its overly bureaucratic function is a testament to that legacy. It created the insulated culture that the federal government enjoyed at the expense of the taxpayer, where firings were rare and wagons were circled to protect these employees.
By removing the MSPB’s authority over federal employment appeals, the federal government will continue to shift away from its culture of complacency mediocrity. These proposals are something the American people deserve after enduring the madness caused by a sprawling, inefficient federal government for decades.
Imagine if the biggest spenders at USAID were allowed to keep their jobs through the MSPB (if they haven’t already burrowed into the government) after shoveling tax money out the door to dubious climate change initiatives, DEI political pet projects, or to Islamic terrorist organizations. There would be a public uproar if that were to happen –– and without changes to how the federal government handles firing disputes –– that burrowing would be enabled by the same system charged with ensuring the American people’s tax dollars pay a salary worth its salt.
So, why should we keep up the status quo when it works for the federal bureaucracy and not the American people? We shouldn’t. These proposals are a major step toward moving away from the federal megagovernment that has exponentially grown since I was a small child.