(Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)
We’re still in the early days of the Trump II administration, but they’re rapidly remaking the landscape of the federal government. Amongst the moves the administration is making is firing a bunch of career Senior Executive Service employees in the Department of Justice — with none of the standard protections for civil servants.
The president’s authority to fire career civil servants is far from settled, as reported by Government Executive, on Inauguration Day:
Trump signed a presidential memorandum that emphasized career SESers must adhere to the policies of the administration. It did not create new firing authorities—as another Trump order will seek to do—instead designing a new oversight system that allows for more political influence over the nearly 9,000 SES members’ hirings and performance reviews.
The fired employees are reportedly “considering their options.”
But hidden in this story of Trump’s power grab is a laughable typo. In the documentation informing employees they lost their jobs, there was an explanation for the dismissal, which said it came from the president’s power under “Title II of the Constitution.” Which, yeah, doesn’t exist.
Like, come on. This is shockingly amateur — it’s the damn Constitution! Even pre-law students *know* it’s Article II. That this made its way into an official Department of Justice document is wild.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].