The first week of May marks Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW)—a time to celebrate the women and men who devote their careers to serving the American people. Across the country and around the world, federal employees keep planes in the air, ensure our food is safe, protect our borders, support our veterans, inspect nuclear reactors, manage disasters, advance medical research, provide logistical and other support for our troops, and uphold our democracy. These are not abstract missions—they are real people doing vital work under increasing strain.
This year’s PSRW lands under a cloud, as 2025 ushered in an era of unprecedented turbulence for federal workers. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency—DOGE— is at the heart of the storm.
The Rise of DOGE: Reform or Reckless?
DOGE was established by Executive Order in early 2025, framed as a “temporary” agency with an ambitious mission: cut costs, streamline operations, and root out inefficiency in the federal bureaucracy. Elon Musk, tapped to lead DOGE, brought with him a Silicon Valley zeal for disruption, automation, and radical restructuring. To the public, it was billed as visionary. To those inside or even just familiar with the federal service, it’s something else entirely, and reminiscent of Musk’s radical restructuring of Twitter after he acquired the platform.
DOGE quickly became the harbinger of a larger political agenda. Entire offices were closed overnight. Thousands of buyouts and forced early retirements thinned the ranks. The rhetoric of “draining the swamp” returned—only now, it had algorithms, AI-powered workforce analysis, and an opaque process to back it up.
Federal employees were not just left out of the decision-making process—they have been actively targeted by it. Office of Management and Budget Direct Russell Vought said last year “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected. When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. We want their funding to be shut down so that the EPA can’t do all of the rules against our energy industry because they have no bandwidth financially to do so. We want to put them in trauma.” Never in the history of the civil service have we seen such naked hostility toward public servants.
Disrupting the Public Good
DOGE’s defenders argue that disruption is the result of federal agencies that have grown bloated, inefficient, and complacent. But this narrative fails to grasp the core truth that seasoned public servants already know: government work is hard, and doing it well requires continuity, subject matter expertise, and institutional knowledge. It also requires dedication to an oath of office that requires federal employees to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’’
Efficiency and effectiveness go hand in hand. Many would argue that right now, vital programs and services are hanging by a thread due to cuts that had little or no analysis to back them up.
Consider the Social Security Administration, where DOGE pushed aggressively to access internal systems, ostensibly to “modernize” payments and cut fraud. But Social Security is one of the most efficient, low-overhead programs in government. The actual fraud rate is minuscule. Critics point out that this is less about efficiency and more about control. The Supreme Court is now reviewing whether DOGE’s access to sensitive data constitutes a violation of federal privacy laws.
Meanwhile, DOGE has facilitated the closure of civil rights offices and equal opportunity divisions under the guise of restructuring. These moves raise serious concerns about commitment to equity, fairness, and nondiscrimination in government hiring and program delivery. They appear to be driven far more by political ideology than efficient operation of government.
What message does this send during Public Service Recognition Week? That the work of public servants can be judged by algorithms? That years of dedication and sacrifice are disposable? That federal employees themselves are completely disposable?
A Demoralized but Resilient Workforce
Morale in many agencies is at historic lows. Exit surveys from multiple departments cite fear of sudden termination, confusion about restructuring, and distrust in agency leadership now sidelined by DOGE. Talented mid-career professionals are quietly leaving—many with decades of expertise in areas like cybersecurity, environmental regulation, and international diplomacy.
In the face of such unprecedented attacks, the resilience of the federal workforce is nothing short of astonishing. Despite the DOGE-driven chaos, federal employees continue to show up. They manage national parks, process Medicare claims, conduct climate research, and help small businesses recover from disasters, at least when they still have enough resources to do so. They work late, take pay freezes on the chin, and—unlike political appointees—often serve under both Republican and Democratic administrations without complaint.
Public service is not just a job. It is a calling. And even now, that calling and the dedication of hundreds of thousands of federal workers endures.
This PSRW, Let’s Get Real About What Needs Recognition
Public Service Recognition Week should not be a hollow ritual of hashtags and proclamations. It should be a time of reckoning and renewal. If we are serious about honoring public servants, we must:
Defend the merit-based civil service. History shows us that spoils-based civil service serves politicians and not the American people. As President Theodore Roosevelt famously said, ““The government cannot endure permanently if administered on a spoils basis. If this form of corruption is permitted and encouraged, other forms of corruption will inevitably follow in its train. When a department at Washington, or at a state capitol, or in the city hall in some big town is thronged with place-hunters and office-mongers who seek and dispense patronage from considerations of personal and party greed, the tone of public life is necessarily so lowered that the bribe-taker and the bribe-giver, the blackmailer and the corruptionist, find their places ready prepared for them.”
Reject radical cuts to the workforce and programs, unless those cuts are driven by real data and analysis. There is nothing efficient about blindly cutting jobs, then turning around and trying to rehire people because no one knew what they do, Agency after agency has stories of employees told they were not needed, then asked to come back because – big surprise – they were actually essential.
Invest in modern tools and training while maintaining the human judgment that good governance requires. We should absolutely replace outdated systems and processes, but we have to do it based on a deep understanding of what is needed to serve the public.
Champion the stories of frontline workers whose work saves lives, protects rights, and keeps our country running. Federal employees are vital to our nation.
Recognize that the civil service is based on many outdated processes that drive inefficiency. We must champion bipartisan reforms that focus on how to best serve the American people. It appears that the rampant partisanship that has soiled our politics has people dividing into two camps – “burn it down” or “keep everything the same.” Neither of those is a good idea. Sadly, many of the people who are best suited to identify the reforms we need are the same public servants who have been targeted by the Trump Administration.
If DOGE has shown us anything, it’s that public service is more fragile than we thought. But it has also reminded us of what’s worth fighting for.
Public Service Need Not Be a Partisan Issue
Less than a week into his presidency, the late President George H. W. Bush addressed members of the Senior Executive Service. President Bush said:
“… now that the people have spoken, I’m coming to you as President and offering my hand in partnership. I’m asking you to join me as full members of our team. I promise to lead and to listen, and I promise to serve beside you as we work together to carry out the will of the American people.
Our principles are clear: that government service is a noble calling and a public trust. I learned that from my mom and dad at an early age, and I expect that that’s where many of you learned it—there or in school. There is no higher honor than to serve free men and women, no greater privilege than to labor in government beneath the Great Seal of the United States and the American flag. And that’s why this administration is dedicated to ethics in government and the need for honorable men and women to serve in positions of trust.
… I have a conservative vision of government. I ran and was elected on those terms. And I see no strain or tension between those values and the values of a professional civil service whose highest principle is one of patriotism, whose foremost commitment is to excellence, whose experience and expertise is in itself a national resource to be used and respected. I urge all my appointees to build a spirit of teamwork between the political and career officials. And each of you has a special role to play here. You’ve reached the top of your profession, and you’re skilled managers, knowledgeable in your fields, respected by your colleagues. And I’m asking you to join with our political appointees not only in setting an example of cooperation but, again, one of excellence as well.”
Final Word: A Note to Federal Employees
To the federal employees reading this—know this: you matter. The work you do matters. And despite the noise, the shifting political winds, and the ill-conceived restructurings, your commitment to public service is what holds this government together.
You are not a line item. You are not an inefficiency. You are a professional, a steward of the public trust, and an essential part of our democracy.
So this week, while the press releases flow and social media lights up with both sincere and insincere “thank you” messages, take a moment to recognize each other. Celebrate your teams. Tell your stories. Push back on false narratives. And continue serving the American people the way you always have.
ChiefHRO.com 