A recent report chronicles the struggles of a handful of federal employees as they learn to cope with the reality that Donald Trump just might win the election.
It is unintentionally one of the funniest things you're going to read this election cycle.
POLITICO covered the group heralding from various government agencies as they came to terms with the fact that their jobs might be on the line if Trump defeats Kamala Harris. They suggest a new administration would be "vindictive" and eliminate their jobs. As such, they prep for the inevitability.
A large portion of these federal workers are fleeing the EPA, transferring to departments that won't be as target-rich for a Trump administration eager to eliminate waste and over-spending.
But the outlet also gets down into the weeds, noting one couple who is being forced to put off buying a new car and making home renovations because they're worried about their jobs.
Now look, I'm not one to relish in anybody's misery. But the POLITICO piece has all the vibes of this group ...
I have friends who are federal workers. They would acknowledge the bloat in various government agencies. It's nothing personal. But man, this article is glorious. It needs to be injected directly into my veins.
It's practically an ad in the making for the Trump campaign.
“We have stopped doing any money-spending things because what if we’re without jobs in the next year?” one Interior employee tells POLITICO. “We need all the savings we can get.”
Gosh, that really resonates with the average American who has had to 'stop doing money-spending things' for four years, just so they could afford gas to drive to their two jobs and then pick up a scaled-down list of groceries that their family has to ration on the way home.
That couple, by the way, no longer feels confident in buying a new car or making home repairs. Sad. How many of you have put that off during this administration's evisceration of the American worker's paycheck?
“We’re both feeling the heaviness of this right now," they state.
Words are peppered throughout the column that capture the mood of those who suddenly feel like their livelihoods might be on the chopping block.
Panic. Distraught. Fear. Doom and gloom ... literally.
“They’re so vindictive, I can see them going back through E&E News articles and saying, ‘You’re fired,’” one employee worries.
Seems a handful of federal employees can now relate to those who lost their jobs during the pandemic. Who were threatened with being - or actually were - fired if they didn't submit to the needle.
To quote Officer John McClane from "Die Hard" - Welcome to the party, pal.
Through it all, though, one can rest assured that the sacrifice these federal employees might have to make pales in comparison to the overall picture. You guessed it - the threat to democracy.
“People are worried, but anybody who has half a brain is existentially afraid for the safety of democracy,” an employee at the National Science Foundation says.
Oh, the self-imagined heroism. Funny you should mention half a brain.
Perhaps the fear isn't so much that Trump will be vindictive but rather, that he will hold federal employees accountable. Does anybody at the EPA or the Interior or State Departments remember what that word means?
Early on in the campaign, the former president announced a new part of his plan to drain the swamp and take on the entrenched federal bureaucracy: requiring all federal employees to pass a Civil Service test to prove their understanding of the United States Constitution.
“I will require every federal employee to pass a new Civil Service test demonstrating an understanding of our Constitutional limited government,” Trump said.
He added:
This will include command of due process rights, equal protection, Free Speech, religious liberty, federalism, the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure — I know all about that at Mar-a-Lago, don’t I — and all the other constitutional limits on federal power.
Imagine feds needing to operate off an understanding of the nation's fundamental principles or established precedents. What a concept!
Cleaning up the corrupt federal government has to be a top consideration for a new administration, as well as a top regret for Trump during his first term as president.
Draining the swamp this time must be more than a slogan. It must be reality. Sorry if your new car plans take a hit or if you can't finish your basement, but the federal government has to be reined in from top to bottom.
it's for the good of this nation.