“Increasing Republican discussions about eliminating civil-service protections are appalling and dangerous.  These protections ensure that most who serve in government are nonpartisan and build institutional knowledge benefitting the American people.  The former president’s ‘Schedule F’ order was the most direct and damaging assault on our nonpartisan civil service since its creation more than 130 years ago.  The American people deserve a federal workforce they know are working for them, not for politicians.  Federal employees deserve to know that they will not be fired at will for perceived political leanings or because they provide factual and accurate but unwelcome advice to superiors who are in political offices. 

“I’ve been proud to fight for a federal workforce free from political interference for many years.  ‘Schedule F’ would mean the destruction of our civil service and the installation of thousands of unqualified loyalists who owe their jobs and their allegiance to a president or a party and not to the nation they seek to serve in an unbiased capacity.  That’s why I worked with Rep. Connolly to include language addressing the threat from the ‘Schedule F’ order in last year’s defense authorization bill passed by the House.

“I hope that Republicans in Congress will recognize the danger in ‘Schedule F’ and join Democrats in making sure it can never be implemented again.”