When United States President, Donald Trump leaves office on 20 January, not all of his political appointees will follow.
That’s due to the long-standing and controversial practice of ‘burrowing’ in which political appointees — whose jobs could easily be eliminated by an incoming President — transition to more secure Public Service positions, often within the Agencies where they once held senior political positions.
A review by journalists has found that more than a dozen Trump appointees have already ‘burrowed’ into new positions this year alone, joining the rank and file who will serve under President-elect Joe Biden.
They include a high-ranking official at the Department of Veterans Affairs, at least seven political appointees in the Department of Justice and four appointees in the Department of Interior, among others.
The process of ‘burrowing’ has been used for decades by the Administrations of both political parties.
Under current law, the Office of Personnel Management must examine and sign off on the conversions and is required to report those cases to Congress.
If approved, the newly minted Public Servants will enjoy stronger job protections than a political appointee.
The process is widely viewed as controversial among political parties and Government watchdogs alike.
Some critics of the practice say it wrongly allows political operatives to remain inside Agencies and question whether it deprives long-time Public Servants of the opportunity to advance.
A lawyer with the non-partisan Partnership for Public Service, Max Stier (pictured) said the country was better off with a Government that was professionalised, with people chosen because of their qualifications.
“Typically the number of people burrowing is small, but it’s something we ought to be keeping an eye on,” Mr Stier said.
Democratic Congressman, Gerry Connolly said it was more worrying this time as Mr Trump had floated the idea of running for President again in 2024.
“They’re political acolytes of the President. Are they going to be political operatives of the President while embedded in these Agencies?” Mr Connolly asked.
Washington, 29 November 2020
