I think that there are misconceptions about civil servants within the federal government. Somehow there is a belief, amplified sharply lately, that everyone in the federal government is liberal and works against conservative ideals. And that they all are doing their own thing irregardless of who is president.

In my years in civil service, probably 85% of the people I worked with were more conservative than I was. Most were quite conservative, in fact. Agencies vary, but most are modeled from the military; virtual orders are given to managers. And those below follow the orders or you will be written up quickly. You can be fired from the government for insubordination.

There are very few real “kingdoms” carved out. Occasionally someone with seniority does stay too long. This happens everywhere. In the agency I worked for, the work varied from state to state. The more conservative a state might be, the more conservative the agency within that state.

There was a definite change from administration to administration. The mission is top-down, as much as the field was emphasized, the administration was in the driver’s seat. The “Deep State” concept of the federal government is fictitious.

Erwin Curry,

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