(Photo
by
J.
David
Ake/Getty
Images)
We’re
still
in
the
early
days
of
the
Trump
II
administration,
but
they’re
rapidly
remaking
the
landscape
of
the
federal
government.
Amongst
the
moves
the
administration
is
making
is
firing
a
bunch
of
career
Senior
Executive
Service
employees
in
the
Department
of
Justice
—
with
none
of
the
standard
protections
for
civil
servants.
The
president’s
authority
to
fire
career
civil
servants
is
far
from
settled,
as
reported
by
Government
Executive,
on
Inauguration
Day:
Trump
signed
a
presidential
memorandum that
emphasized
career
SESers
must
adhere
to
the
policies
of
the
administration.
It
did
not
create
new
firing
authorities—as another
Trump
order will
seek
to
do—instead
designing
a
new
oversight
system
that
allows
for
more
political
influence
over
the
nearly
9,000
SES
members’
hirings
and
performance
reviews.
The
fired
employees
are
reportedly
“considering
their
options.”
But
hidden
in
this
story
of
Trump’s
power
grab
is
a
laughable
typo.
In
the
documentation
informing
employees
they
lost
their
jobs,
there
was
an
explanation
for
the
dismissal,
which
said
it
came
from
the
president’s
power
under
“Title
II
of
the
Constitution.”
Which,
yeah,
doesn’t
exist.
Like,
come
on.
This
is
shockingly
amateur
—
it’s
the
damn
Constitution!
Even
pre-law
students
*know*
it’s
Article
II.
That
this
made
its
way
into
an
official
Department
of
Justice
document
is
wild.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].