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brooklynite

(93,626 posts)
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 12:15 PM Jun 2019

Trump administration threatens furloughs, layoffs if Congress doesn't let it kill personnel agency

Source: Washington Post

The Trump administration is threatening to furlough — and possibly lay off — 150 employees at the federal personnel agency if Congress blocks its plan to eliminate the department.

The Office of Personnel Management is preparing to send the career employees home without pay starting on Oct. 1, according to an internal briefing document obtained by The Washington Post. The employees could formally be laid off after 30 days, administration officials confirmed.

The warning of staff cuts is the administration’s most dramatic move yet in an escalating jujitsu between Trump officials and Congress over the fate of the agency that manages the civilian federal workforce of 2.1 million.

Even as House Democrats and some Republicans signal that Congress is not going to break up the 5,565-employee department, the administration is moving forward in defiance. Trump appointees paint a dire picture of a corner of the government in financial free fall and failing to carry out its mission. They want a commitment from Congress by June 30 to agree to disband the agency — or they say they’ll be forced to trim staff.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-administration-threatens-furloughs-layoffs-if-congress-doesnt-let-it-kill-personnel-agency/2019/06/19/b7200fda-9135-11e9-b58a-a6a9afaa0e3e_story.html?utm_term=.20b727209602

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Trump administration threatens furloughs, layoffs if Congress doesn't let it kill personnel agency (Original Post) brooklynite Jun 2019 OP
Hmmh! More going on here than meets the eye? Anyone here that can clarify.... machoneman Jun 2019 #1
The Trump admin wants security clearances out from OPM's control IronLionZion Jun 2019 #4
B I N G O ! Haggis for Breakfast Jun 2019 #14
You just knew it was about corruption. lindysalsagal Jun 2019 #16
There's some misunderstanding on this issue. Trump's proposal to roll OPM under OMB has very little 24601 Jun 2019 #17
One thing it helps is it gets rid of review of outside contractor bids Submariner Jun 2019 #5
That's my take too MadLinguist Jun 2019 #13
It seems to bring the government back to the days where you owed you government job to the LiberalArkie Jun 2019 #6
As long as you will loyally lie for the republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief Achilleaze Jun 2019 #2
WTF? Has anyone heard anything about this prior to this post? KPN Jun 2019 #3
This is an interesting comment from Bobin Minnesota octoberlib Jun 2019 #7
Bobin Minnesota is right. Haggis for Breakfast Jun 2019 #15
Sounds like Trumpy wants more work for his cronies Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Jun 2019 #8
Look behind the curtain... moonseller66 Jun 2019 #9
Right on, moon - this idiot only knows about ratings and angry, conflicted Dems - the rest of Leghorn21 Jun 2019 #10
I agree, 'Slithering Don' isn't bright enough. Talitha Jun 2019 #11
Another Special Prosecuter (outside DOJ) required to investigate so much dismantling. Evolve Dammit Jun 2019 #12

machoneman

(3,941 posts)
1. Hmmh! More going on here than meets the eye? Anyone here that can clarify....
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 12:22 PM
Jun 2019

..why and where Trump and his evil minions can benefit by closing down this agency?

-does it allow Trump to bypass vetting even at lower levels to intsall his Kremlin-lovin' pals?
-how can he financially benefit? Selling jobs to the highest bidders?
-firing what he believes are all Democrats, Hillary lovers, etc.?

24601

(3,938 posts)
17. There's some misunderstanding on this issue. Trump's proposal to roll OPM under OMB has very little
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 09:04 PM
Jun 2019

to do with security clearances. The real issue is about control over civil service policies.

My 48th year of federal service starts early next month. About half of those included security clearance requests and revocations as well as suspension or reinstatement of access.

OPM does not grant security clearances for anyone not assigned to OPM. After an individual fills out their Standard Form 86 (Questionnaire for National Security Positions), it goes to an investigating agency along with supplemental forms authorizing release of financial, medical and school records. OPM's role was to collect all the information needed to verify or refute what the individual submitted. This includes in-person neighborhood interviews where the most important question asked is, "Who else knows him?" While these long forms (up to 127 pages) include personal & professional references, the investigators presume we list people who are inclined to say nice things - and they want to reach the people we didn't list.

Well, anyway, OPM, or FBI or DSS - whomever has investigative responsibility - just collects & assembles the file and turns it over to the requesting Department, Agency, White House or Service. OPM is done at this point and has no meaningful participation adjudicating whether to grant a clearance. Some agencies, primarily CIA and NSA add their own polygraph and psych interview before it goes to the adjudicator. It is possible to pass the poly and fail the adjudication.

OPM conducted my last two periodic re-investigations (due every 5 years). In both cases, it was a contractor, not a government employee. Additionally, in 2014, hackers stole over 21 million of these these security clearance files from one of OPM's sub-contractors. Couple that with the 2018 theft of Equifax data (collected without our consent) produces a road map for targeting vulnerable individuals with access to highly-classified information.

Submariner

(12,477 posts)
5. One thing it helps is it gets rid of review of outside contractor bids
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 01:21 PM
Jun 2019

such as soliciting multiple bids for government work, with very specific engineering/administrative/environmental specifications, and selecting the most qualified bidder, even if it is not the lowest bidder.

It sounds like a Trumpian move to give the government and its duties away to private contractors. This is some kind of high level corruption planning.

MadLinguist

(779 posts)
13. That's my take too
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 05:19 PM
Jun 2019

An organization that spans all federal government agencies, as the OPM does, provides more oversight and transparency than the shit-bags can tolerate. Things like salary ranges, and personnel rights, and laws that apply to governmental agencies bother people in the oligarchic class

LiberalArkie

(15,673 posts)
6. It seems to bring the government back to the days where you owed you government job to the
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 01:22 PM
Jun 2019

person holding office. Way back in Arkansas, the teachers, highway workers, office workers, really everyone owed their allegiance to the Democratic Party and to the governor who ran it. They always seemed to know how the people voted. It was a long time before the state and most states became 2 party states.

Maybe that is what they are trying to bring back.

Achilleaze

(15,543 posts)
2. As long as you will loyally lie for the republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 12:46 PM
Jun 2019

you've got a job. If you are loyal to the USA and to TRUTH, you are tossed into the republican shitcan. Only blind submissive republican toadies get jobs.

KPN

(15,578 posts)
3. WTF? Has anyone heard anything about this prior to this post?
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 01:13 PM
Jun 2019

Edcit: googled -- apparently this is part of tRump's 2016 campaign promise to "cut so much your head will spin". True story.

octoberlib

(14,971 posts)
7. This is an interesting comment from Bobin Minnesota
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 01:31 PM
Jun 2019

What’s this all about? Trump getting more power and control. Here’s how it works.

OPM, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the federal government. Within the OPM is housed a “semi- autonomous” agency called The National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) The NBIB is responsible for conducting security clearance investigations into individuals who need to hold security clearances for employment purposes in the federal government. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Background_Investigations_Bureau
https://www.opm.gov/Forms/pdf_fill/SF86.pdf

OPM had the whistle blower that went to Congress who said that 25 Trump WH employees were denied clearances, including Kushner and Bolton But was overruled by Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/us/politics/tricia-newbold-whistle-blower-white-house.html

Now Trump just placed an EO #13467 that effectively transfers the security clearance responsibility form the NBIB to the Department of Defense which directly reports to Trump. There will be no transparency and no whistleblowers.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-transferring-responsibility-background-investigations-department-defense/

moonseller66

(430 posts)
9. Look behind the curtain...
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 01:41 PM
Jun 2019

Make no mistake. This isn't trump's doing. Really, he isn't bright enough to have figured how to do this on his own.

We need to concentrate on the real power(s) behind trump...and I don't mean Vlad.

The real American Terrorists don't wear camo. They wear many thousand dollar suits, get driven and flown wherever they wish, raise prices to add to their own and their investor's greed and screw American workers out of any kind of dream.

CEO = Corrupt Economic Opportunist

Leghorn21

(13,506 posts)
10. Right on, moon - this idiot only knows about ratings and angry, conflicted Dems - the rest of
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 01:53 PM
Jun 2019

these machinations would totally escape him, even if he studied up on them...and all the cabinet positions?? No way he knew who these scumbags were before he was told to appoint them, no way

Now, I tend to think there’s indeed a little Vlad influence going on, but as you say, it’s the $$$$$$ CEOs yanking the strings here - and they may or may not all be citizens of the US, eh?

grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Talitha

(6,450 posts)
11. I agree, 'Slithering Don' isn't bright enough.
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 02:05 PM
Jun 2019

To find out who's masterminding things, follow the money.

Evolve Dammit

(16,564 posts)
12. Another Special Prosecuter (outside DOJ) required to investigate so much dismantling.
Wed Jun 19, 2019, 04:56 PM
Jun 2019

Can Congress authorize? He and his minions are trying to destroy all the institutions. It's been pretty clear and continues unabated. Largely not even called out by most of MSM. He loves chaos and his team is bringing it. Dems are in hurry-up defense all day long and it's not enough to even marginally keep up.

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