President Trump has signed an executive order that could reclassify thousands of federal jobs, potentially removing long-standing job protections. Supporters say it promotes accountability and merit, while critics argue it opens the door to political favoritism and undermines civil service protections. In this video, we break down the facts, history, and constitutional implications—you decide.

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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

Hi, I'm Brenton Goodman and this is You Decide a series where I break down hot button issues using facts law and the Constitution. I won't tell you what to think. I'll just give you the information. So you decide. Recently, president Trump signed an executive order reinstating a previous policy, which was executive order 1 3 9 5 7, which shakes up the way federal employees are hired and fired. In theory, his administration claims this move promotes a meritocracy where only the most qualified civil servants hold government positions. But is that really the case? You decide? This order removes competitive hiring rules for positions that are policymaking, policy determining or confidential in nature. That means thousands of potentially over a hundred thousand federal employees could lose job protections. We're talking about office managers, HR specialists, IT experts, and even freedom of Information Act officers, and not just them. Any supervisor or anyone who, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, who is a nominee of President Trump deems necessary, could also fall under this classification.

Now, let's talk history. Competitive hiring laws date back to the Pendleton Act of 1883, which was passed after President Garfield was assassinated by a disgruntled job seeker. Back then, government jobs were handed out as political favors, also known as the spoil system. The Pendleton Act changed that making hiring based on merit and not political loyalty. So why does this matter? Well, opponents of Trump's order argue that it's a return to cronyism, replacing skilled employees with political allies and undermining the entire reason the merit system was created. Supporters, on the other hand say the federal government is bloated, inefficient, and full of career bureaucrats actively resisting Trump's policies. They believe this order allows for greater accountability and the removal of those who undermine the administration's agenda. One key argument in Trump's favor is a memorandum issued on January 27th of this year from the Office of Personnel Management, which suggests these positions will still be filled through a competitive process, the same as before, where they're forbidden from basing appointments on political affiliation and will require proper knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience.

But critics push back saying that while the administration claims it's not about politics, the requirement that employees must faithfully execute Trump's policies is a thinly veiled way of ensuring only political loyalists are the ones that receive jobs. Not to mention, if they plan to keep the same hiring process, then it defeats the purpose of firing the individuals who are already hired by that same process. So is Trump's executive order a win for meritocracy or a dangerous return to political favoritism? You decide. Let me know in the comments and don't forget to like and subscribe. I'm Brenton Goodman, and this is, you decide.