Trump announces tough action against high-paid workers

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday (June 3), paving the way for the easy dismissal of about 8,000 highly paid federal employees. It is seen as part of a larger plan to restructure the federal workforce.

The order, released by the White House and the Office of Personnel Management, said that government employees who earn up to about $200,000 a year and are considered “influential” in policymaking will be largely withdrawn from job protections.

OPM Director Scott Cooper said in a briefing that the administration wants to hire employees who are willing and able to implement government directives. In his words, an employee can have a political ideology, but if that ideology interferes with the implementation of legal directives and policymaking, they should have the opportunity to be fired.

The move is part of Trump’s long-standing effort to restructure the administrative structure and bring under control government employees who are considered to be at odds with his policy agenda.

According to analysts, this policy is further increasing pressure on the “career bureaucrats” who opposed his policy during his first term.

However, administration sources said that while it was initially thought that a maximum of 50,000 workers could be covered by this policy, about 8,000 workers are currently included. This number may be increased in the future, although there are no plans for this at this time.

On the other hand, federal employee unions filed a lawsuit against the policy in January. The court has temporarily stayed the case, as the Trump administration was still completing the final changes.

Source: Samaa TV