Props to our civil servants (i.e. not political appointees) who have suffered a lot, yet are still working for the American people. Note: you do have ways to resist Trump appointees...
Playing stupid - "oops, I misfiled that"; "sorry, it totally slipped my mind!" - can slow down the implementation of the Trump Administration's agenda. Same with "playing lazy," since that is what the Trumpers expect of you anyway: "Oh, yeah, I was going to get to that..."
You can document the nakedly political actions of Trump appointees. Save those internal emails praising Trump or going off on MAGA tangents and put them on the Internet. Anonymously name and shame the mid-level MAGA who aren't even trying to be apolitical. (We can help on our own Substack: https://ktb2025.substack.com/ .)
Learn arcane federal ethics law and report to your agency's legal council any Trumper who violates it. If one says, "Want to come to this fun fundraiser with me?! Free drinks!" - get the lawyers involved for a Hatch Act violation. If one says, "I know this company will do a great job for our bureau because I once worked for them" - get procurement involved for a Procurement Integrity Act violation.
And hide behind as many trees as you can find: HR, employment lawyers, unions, and more sympathetic, higher-level managers. They will make any actions taken against you a long, drawn out process, which will keep you salaried longer and bury the office MAGA under piles of paperwork which they might not even bother to fill out.
Thanks again for your service and keep up the good fight.
ISO the real Walter Shaub. The one who loves SRV & Esther the Wonder Pig. He helped me stay sane during 45’s reign & I/we need him now during 47’s!! I hear he’s on the platform formally known as Twitter but I refuse to go back there. Hoping he joins BlueSky and/or Threads. Please help me find him:)
Props to our civil servants (i.e. not political appointees) who have suffered a lot, yet are still working for the American people. Note: you do have ways to resist Trump appointees...
Playing stupid - "oops, I misfiled that"; "sorry, it totally slipped my mind!" - can slow down the implementation of the Trump Administration's agenda. Same with "playing lazy," since that is what the Trumpers expect of you anyway: "Oh, yeah, I was going to get to that..."
You can document the nakedly political actions of Trump appointees. Save those internal emails praising Trump or going off on MAGA tangents and put them on the Internet. Anonymously name and shame the mid-level MAGA who aren't even trying to be apolitical. (We can help on our own Substack: https://ktb2025.substack.com/ .)
Learn arcane federal ethics law and report to your agency's legal council any Trumper who violates it. If one says, "Want to come to this fun fundraiser with me?! Free drinks!" - get the lawyers involved for a Hatch Act violation. If one says, "I know this company will do a great job for our bureau because I once worked for them" - get procurement involved for a Procurement Integrity Act violation.
And hide behind as many trees as you can find: HR, employment lawyers, unions, and more sympathetic, higher-level managers. They will make any actions taken against you a long, drawn out process, which will keep you salaried longer and bury the office MAGA under piles of paperwork which they might not even bother to fill out.
Thanks again for your service and keep up the good fight.
This is horrifying.
Hello - please think about editing your article and reposting - I think I discovered there are 12 days left to make comments on regulations site.
https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/OPM-2025-0007-0001
ISO the real Walter Shaub. The one who loves SRV & Esther the Wonder Pig. He helped me stay sane during 45’s reign & I/we need him now during 47’s!! I hear he’s on the platform formally known as Twitter but I refuse to go back there. Hoping he joins BlueSky and/or Threads. Please help me find him:)