In the Movie Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, evil Emperor Palpatine transmits a message to all stormtrooper commanders: “Execute Order 66.” Immediately, the troopers begin slaughtering Jedi wherever they find them, and the massacre spans the galaxy. Only a few Jedi managed to escape, Yoda being the only one. The Jedi have effectively ceased to exist after this.
A similar idea appears to have been rattling around in the gumball machine that is Donald Trump’s mind since the second half of his tenure. It is an executive order they call “Schedule F,” which Trump first signed in October of 2020 after his team compiled it in secret. The order was canceled by President Biden shortly after he took office. However, Trump has made it clear Schedule F would be the core of his first 100 days in office if Trump wins in 2024.
Schedule F is nothing but the destruction of large swathes federal workers. These employees would reportedly be replaced with Trump’s loyal MAGA horde. It is the realization of Steve Bannon’s war on the administrative state, combined with Trump’s apparently bottomless need to inflict chaotic pain in the name of revenge, and would damage the function of the federal government for generations.
There is always a certain amount of employee turnover from one administration to the next; some 4,000 jobs are considered “political,” or are part of the spoils system victorious politicians and parties use to reward loyalty. In March 2017, Trump ordered Jeff Sessions, then-Attorney general, to be fired. fire 46 United States attorneys. This was an unexpected move, but not unusual; my father was a U.S. Attorney in Alabama and was a Clinton appointee. He was upset when George W. Bush became president in 2001. More recently, “The Biden administration will begin removing all Senate-confirmed U.S. attorneys appointed during the Trump administration, with two exceptions,” NBC News reportedFebruary 2021
This is not true. Axios’sJonathan Swan meticulously explained:
Former President Trump’s top allies are preparing to radically reshape the federal government if he is re-elected, purging potentially thousands of civil servants and filling career posts with loyalists to him and his “America First” ideology, people involved in the discussions tell Axios. The impact could be far greater than what is expected from conservative targets like the Environmental Protection Agency or the Internal Revenue Service. Trump allies are working on plans that would potentially strip layers at the Justice Department — including the FBI, and reaching into national security, intelligence, the State Department and the Pentagon, sources close to the former president say….
They plan to fill thousands of mid-level positions. Well-funded groups are already developing lists of candidates selected often for their animus against the system — in line with Trump’s long-running obsession with draining “the swamp.” This includes building extensive databases of people vetted as being committed to Trump and his agenda. The preparations are much more ambitious and advanced than previously reported. What is happening is an inversion to the slapdash infrastructure and practically non-existent infrastructure around Trump’s 2017 presidential transition.
These groups operate on multiple fronts. They shape policies, identify top lieutenants, curate an alternative labor force of unprecedented size, and prepare for legal challenges or defenses that might go to Trump-friendly judges all the way up to a Supreme Court of 6-3.
There are certainly arguments to be made in favor of streamlining the massive federal government bureaucracy, notwithstanding Ronald Reagan’s poisoned rhetoric about government being the problem; that line of his has been a plague upon the land since he dropped it, but the idea of increased efficiency is not terrible on its face.
Schedule F, like many other areas of Republican policy, is bad news wrapped in a simple concept. This is not about improving government. It is about transforming government into an engine of Trump’s wrath, and would come into play if he returns to the White House just when the GOP is pushing the idea that state legislatures should decide who wins elections. Trump still controls the Republican Party, which controls 30 state legislatures.
Who would benefit the most from such a massive governmental power grab, other than Trump? The answer lies in the hustings. This is where Trump’s loyalty is not just a matter for the realm, but a religious obligation. Insider reports:
According to Christianity Today, Christian nationalism is “the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way.” Christian nationalists believe the US is and should remain a “Christian nation.” They also believe in freedom of religion, but that Christianity should have a “privileged position in the public square,” the outlet reported.
Sunday’s CNN report reveals a darker side to the ideology. It claims that Christian nationalists use theology as a way to justify sexism, racism, and other forms of violence in order to achieve a White Christian America. According to the report, such ideas are becoming more common in churches across the country. After Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, carried crosses or invoked theology to justify their actions, some argued the insurrection also represented a “Christian revolt.”
Donald Trump is a master at communicating the core beliefs of his country. growing segment of extremist Christianity. “We will not break, we will not yield, we will never give in, we will never give up, we will never, ever, ever back down,” he toldOn Saturday, a congregation of young conservatives gathered in Tampa. “As long as we are confident and united, the tyrants we are fighting do not stand a chance. Because we are Americans and Americans kneel to God, and God alone.”
“As young conservatives met inside the Tampa Convention Center,” reports ABC News, “a small group of Nazi supporters showed up outside, holding up racist imagery and shouting racial epithets at passersby. The group held up a red Nazi swastika flag, one with the SS logo on it, a Florida state flag, and other signs, including anti-semitic images on posters.”
Those clowns need to stop showing off and get their resumes in check. Trump could win in 2024. This would mean that there will be many government jobs for people who believe Jesus signed and the swastika are Christian symbols.I imagine that the rest of us will follow Yoda’s footsteps to the hills.
