‘The Apprentice,’ Federal Edition
Is the executive branch permitted to manage the executive branch, or is that the purview of Congress?
Are reductions-in-force permitted in the public sector the way they are in the private sector?
‘Solicitor General D. John Sauer’s emergency application asks the Supremes to lift a lower-court block on the administration’s efforts to fire federal workers across 17 agencies. California district court judge Susan Illston recently issued a sweeping restraining order, barring a Trump executive order that put into motion some 40 “reduction in force” (RIF) efforts across the government. Federal unions, nonprofits and local governments all sued, while more than 20 states have also filed amicus briefs supporting the workers. Illston ruled the workers were likely to win, on grounds that Trump cannot “engage in large-scale overhauls of federal agencies” without the approval of Congress.
‘Sauer’s application disagrees, claiming Congress has long “recognized the Executive Branch’s authority to carry out reductions in its workforce as the need arises,” and points to Bill Clinton’s order in 1993 that all federal agencies with more than 100 employees “eliminate not less than 4 percent of [their] civilian personnel positions” within three years. The solicitor general points out that “RIFs are indisputably permitted by federal law” and must be challenged in special administrative or judicial settings as defined by civil-service laws. He reminds the Supreme Court that only last month it lifted a stay on the administration’s efforts to fire probationary workers in six cabinet departments, and argues it should do the same here, as Illston’s order is even more expansive.’
Judge extends block on Trump’s mass layoffs at several agencies
The judge appears to presume that the agencies will be unable to execute Congressional will if these (or any) cuts are put into place.
Really?
‘Illston, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton , said in the Thursday opinion that the, “President has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch.”’
A Supreme Court Showdown on Trump’s Agency Firings
Will the President be in a position to fire the Fed Chair and other key members?
‘The Supreme Court on Thursday let President Trump fire two members of so-called independent agencies without ruling on the merits of their legal challenges. But even the liberal dissent seems resigned that the Court’s Humphrey’s Executor (1935) precedent is a dead letter.
‘Mr. Trump has been testing the limits of executive power with the goal of teeing up cases for the Supreme Court to reconsider long-standing precedents. He succeeded with his removal of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris, who challenged their dismissal under Humphrey’s Executor.’
Air Traffic Control: It’s Management, Not Money
For a while we’ve been saying that NAV Canada is the model for US air traffic control.
It’s good to see the debate on FAA’s crippling bureaucracy.
‘The Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, is on the case, but so far, he is just proposing to throw more money at the problem. By itself, more money will not cure the ATC system’s deep flaws, which stem from trying to run a high-tech industry from within a bureaucracy at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
‘With all the red tape, risk aversion, and political interference inherent in federal bureaucracies, the FAA’s performance may get even worse over time as global aviation demand continues rising and the skies get ever more crowded.
‘Congress must restructure ATC. The obvious reform model is Canada, whose ATC system has excelled for three decades as a self-funded, non-profit corporation outside the government bureaucracy.’
Grounded by Bureaucracy: Trump’s Chance to Ditch the Feds, Commercialize the Skies
NAV Canada is brilliant. They showed us the way. We should follow their lead.
‘But instead of relying on the already debt-ridden federal government to finance an air traffic overhaul and on the innately inefficient federal bureaucracy to oversee it, the Trump administration should take the opportunity to permanently transform America’s air traffic control system through commercialization.
‘If there’s anything the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, taught us, it’s that modernization and efficiency are enigmas to the federal government. ‘