{"id":1046,"date":"2026-06-04T20:09:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T20:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1046"},"modified":"2026-06-04T20:09:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T20:09:52","slug":"president-just-turned-most-of-his-lieutenants-into-hostages-former-trump-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1046","title":{"rendered":"President just turned most of his lieutenants into hostages: former Trump official"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Former Trump Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor is warning that President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an order that roughly \u201ctriples\u201d the number of federal employees the president can dismiss at will, for any reason, or none.<\/p>\n

Read more Conservative mag applauds death of Trump\u2019s \u2018indefensible\u2019 slush fund<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe White House quietly issued an order turning 8,000 top \u2018civil service\u2019 jobs into roles that serve at the pleasure of the president,\u201d Taylor explained, noting that these are the federal government\u2019s \u201ctop lieutenants,\u201d the \u201cmost senior career officials.\u201d<\/p>\n

These \u201care the people serving right under <\/em>Trump\u2019s political appointees (the ones he assigns to run federal departments and agencies). Presidents get \u2018their people\u2019 to reshape policy priorities.\u201d The list of political appointees in any administration ordinarily runs about 4,000 people.<\/p>\n

By making the next level down essentially political appointees, Trump \u201cjust tripled the size of his personal army inside government,\u201d says Taylor, calling it \u201ca breathtaking takeover of the machinery of state.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese aren\u2019t rando\u2019s,\u201d Taylor added on social media. \u201cThey\u2019re the directors, chiefs of staff, and the people who write the rules or decide who gets federal money, i.e. the lieutenants right below his political appointees. Until yesterday, they answered to the law. Now they answer to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The federal civil service exists to carry out the wishes of the administration, but its duty, as he said, is to the law, not to any one president. That\u2019s how a new administration can enter the White House while the government continues to run.<\/p>\n

Read more UFC fighter who said he\u2019d take a bullet for Trump tears apart his \u2018corrupted\u2019 event<\/a><\/p>\n

As Taylor noted, as DHS chief of staff, he too was a political appointee \u2014 someone who could be fired at any time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t protected by anything other than the president\u2019s favor,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cThat\u2019s why \u2014 when you make a decision to speak out about wrongdoing \u2014 you\u2019ve got to be prepared to quit or be fired. You have no protections if you fall out of favor with the president. Unfortunately, that\u2019s why you see so many Pam Bondis and Todd Blanches, eagerly doing whatever Trump wants. They know how easy it is to lose their job.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the \u201ctop lieutenants\u201d should not be political appointees, Taylor argues.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone underneath those positions, some two million civil servants, has historically been insulated from political whim by removal protections dating to the reforms that ended the spoils system back in the 1800s,\u201d he writes. \u201cWhat just happened is almost certainly illegal. A coalition of federal employees unions are, I hope, prepared to fight hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Republicans hemorrhaging support in key red state as Trump anchor sinks them<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Trump Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor is warning that President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an order that roughly \u201ctriples\u201d the number of federal employees the president can dismiss at will, for any reason, or none.\u201cThe White House quietly issued an order turn…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPresident just turned most of his lieutenants into hostages: former Trump official - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1046\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President just turned most of his lieutenants into hostages: former Trump official - 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