Don Beyer: Schedule F order is a recipe for corruption that will make the country less safe

Donald Trump’s Schedule F order politicizing the federal workforce is a recipe for corruption that would make the country less safe.

Federal workers are integral to national security and public health. They perform safety inspections on our food and water, they are the first line of defense against epidemic and common illnesses alike, they provide care for our veterans, and they deliver our mail. When Americans visit a National Park or get a Social Security payment, they don’t ask whether the public servant who helps them is loyal to Donald Trump, they just want someone who is competent and good at the job.

We did not always have a merit-based system that saw federal employees hired and promoted based on performance and skill. Congress passed laws to make the federal workforce the way it is specifically to replace a spoils system that was rife with incompetence and corruption – which is what would ensue if Trump gets his way.

Merit, not political allegiance, has been the core value for government hiring and advancement for over a century, through Democratic and Republican administrations, and our merit-based system has bipartisan support in Congress today. I believe that Trump’s order is clearly illegal, but in this judicial environment preventing this order from taking effect may require robust legal challenges and ultimately passage of the Saving the Civil Service Act, which I strongly support.

Don Beyer represents a Northern Virginia district containing one of the largest concentrations of federal employees in the U.S. House.