March 10, 2017Op-ed

NY Daily News: The President vs. civil servants: Trump needs to work with, not against, the bureaucracy

by James Anderson

Federal/

As business leaders have long known, and as the best governments are rapidly realizing, your workforce represents the single largest opportunity to improve performance and spur innovation within your organization.

Sadly, that’s not what we’re seeing from the White House. Rather than involve career civil servants in key decisions, President Trump’s inner circle is sidelining government expertise, shutting down dissent and going on the attack.

Their message is consistent and clear. First came a federal hiring freeze. Then White House press secretary Sean Spicer said State Department staffers who disagreed with the President’s immigration ban “should get with the program or get out.”