A group of Senate Democrats has introduced legislation that would protect career federal employees from being ousted under new presidential administrations.
The Preventing a Patronage System Act would mean that without the approval of Congress, a president could not treat tens of thousands of civil service workers as political appointees and replace them with their preferred candidates for reasons unrelated to merit.
The legislation is Democrats’ latest effort to institute the protections and takes aim at former President Trump, who in 2020 issued an executive order that would have made “an exception to competitive hiring rules.” Democrats argued the move would have diminished job protections and due process while paving the way for a president to replace career employees with loyalists.