The Fragility of Merit: Presidential Power and the Civil Service Under Trump

While the operation and structure of the public workforce is not a matter that is on the minds of most, the consequences for the nature and effectiveness of government are substantial. The Fragility of Merit provides a detailed examination of the importance of a professionally competent and politically neutral public service. Illustrating the fundamental fragility of the federal civil service in the United States and the underlying concept of merit in public employment, J. Edward Kellough demonstrates how a particular view of presidential power grounded in unitary executive theory was used during Donald J. Trump’s term in office. Specifically, he reviews various efforts to subordinate the public workforce to presidential authority and explains how those actions threatened to undermine bureaucratic expertise that is desperately needed in government. The Fragility of Merit makes a persuasive case for protecting the civil service and for rebuilding a national consensus in favor of merit in public employment. It will benefit researchers, academics, students, and others with an interest in public administration, public personnel management, government, and bureaucracy.

Table of Contents:
1. The Evolution of the U.S. Public Service and the Concept of Merit 2. Personnel is Power: Controlling Government by Controlling the Civil Service 3. Disabling the Merit Systems Protection Board 4. Trump’s Executive Orders on Federal Labor Relations 5. The Effort to Dismantle OPM 6. The Creation of Schedule F 7. Changing Course at the FLRA 8. The Risk to Expertise

About the Author :
J. Edward Kellough is the Thomas P. and M. Jean Lauth Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Georgia where he serves as Head of the Department of Public Administration and Policy. Dr. Kellough specializes primarily in the field of public-sector human resources management. He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, has served as President of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA), and has served as Chair of the Section on Public Administration of the American Political Science Association and as Chair of the American Society for Public Administration, Section of Personnel and Labor Relations and the Section on Public Administration Education.

Review :
RECOMMENDED by Choice The Fragility of Merit is packed with details and acronyms but provides excellent evidence of what Trump has done to hollow out the civil service. Released right after the 2024 presidential election, this book accurately foretold the first few months of Trump's second administration and the steps the administration has taken to further its attempts from its first term. Kellough's description of what the administration "accomplished" with regard to controlling the functions and behaviors of the bureaucracy is like looking at the first part of a road map. The removal of dispute mechanisms for employee complaints and appeals, the limiting of public employee unions' power, and other actions taken between 2017 and 2021 have set the stage for the more damaging actions the administration would take in its earliest days in 2025. This work fits well into the niche of academic work over the last eight or so years depicting the deconstruction of the administrative state. J. Twombly, emeritus, Elmira College Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals This book is very timely given the deep division in how Americans view our political system and how much or how little they value people who work in political environments. Civil service systems have long protected government employees, who at times, work in highly charged political environments. Dr. Kellough explores the evolution of the federal civil service system and reforms over the past few years as he traces the partisan effort to dismantle the federal workforce. Doug Goodman, Professor of Public Administration, University of Central Florida