We’ll talk about the value of a nonpartisan, professional civil service in sustaining a functioning democracy. We'll cover the struggle to depoliticize the civil service going back to the end of the nineteenth century and bringing it up to date. We're now seeing the ranks of civil servants slashed, with some positions converted into political appointments. Where is this heading? What are the risks? If the "deep state" consists of well educated professionals, are they the natural enemy of autocrats? How is it playing out in this moment? And how is it playing out in Maine?
Special guests:
- Ryan LaRochelle, Senior Lecturer at the Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service at the University of Maine
- Rob Shriver, Managing Director of the Civil Service Strong and Good Government Initiatives at Democracy Forward
Learn more about this topic:
- Trump strips job protections from 8,000 federal workers | NPR, June 2026
- Understanding the risks to economic statistics | Brookings, April 2026
- These federal workers lost their jobs. They’re starting over in Maine | PPH, April 2026
- Do policymakers underappreciate public employment? | Brookings, March 2026
- The Government Workers Donald Trump Discarded | The Atlantic, February 2026
- The People’s Guide to the Civil Service | Democracy Forward, December 2025
- The future of public service | Brookings, May 2025
- Erica Frantz's Public Comment on OPM's Proposed Rule: "Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service" | Scholars Strategy Network, May 2025
- The Deadly Story of the U.S. Civil Service | Throughline, NPR, April 2025
- More than one way to slice a workforce: How Trump's cuts differ from Clinton's | USA Today, February 2025
- The civil service, explained | Protect Democracy, June 2024
- A Primer on the Civil Service and the Trump Administration | Lawfare, December 2024
Tune into the broadcast at 4:00 p.m., Friday, June 19, on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, streaming at weru.org. If you miss the broadcast, check back here for the audio archive. Subscribe to our podcast: iTunes | Spotify | Android.