The Trump administration is aggressively reshaping federal institutions to serve partisan goals, undermining civil service neutrality, press freedom, public health communication, and academic independence. Trump’s proposed “Schedule Policy/Career” classification revives his earlier “Schedule F” plan, threatening to politicize the federal workforce by requiring loyalty to presidential policy rather than the law.
His swearing-in of Dr. Oz as CMS administrator devolved into a campaign-style spectacle, emphasizing celebrity over competence. Meanwhile, a federal judge blocked Trump’s plan to mass-fire CFPB employees, and another judge warned but did not yet act on the administration’s partial defiance of a press access ruling favoring the AP.
In public health, the administration erased COVID-19 signage and replaced federal health sites with a partisan “lab leak” page, removing essential resources in favor of political narrative. At the IRS, Trump replaced whistleblower Gary Shapley with loyalist Michael Faulkender but kept Shapley as an advisor, signaling a loyalty-based reshuffling.
The administration also escalated its crackdown on Harvard, citing protests and alleged foreign ties to justify funding freezes and visa threats, drawing criticism for attacking free speech and academic autonomy. These moves reflect a broad effort to erode institutional norms and centralize control under partisan leadership.
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