As a former federal career and political leader, I have proudly stood alongside my fellow public servants, bound by the sacred responsibility of making tomorrow better. On March 1, 2022, after 27 years serving in federal executive and career positions, including 16 on the Chief Human Capital Officer Council, I was sworn in as vice and acting chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, a quasi-judicial and independent agency that protects the merit system principles within the federal workforce.
With that swearing in, the board was restored to a quorum after a five-year hiatus that occurred during the prior Trump administration. The lack of quorum had resulted in over 3,800 backlogged appeals. However, after three years in my role, the newly constituted board eliminated the backlog. On March 1, after voting on approximately 5,000 appeals, my three-year term appointment ended, and I retired after 30 years of human capital and legal experiences, with a board quorum still intact.
However, starting on Jan. 20, that promise to form a more perfect union began to unravel. Independent agencies and leaders congressionally charged with oversight and due process protections were instantaneously under presidential assault. From the ouster of inspectors general to illegal firings of members of multi-party independent boards and commissions, we’ve seen the devastating effects on our citizens. Now, as before these actions, the board has lost its quorum.
Thus, this moment demands more than just reflection; it is a call to action because that is what America does best. With that said, I am not planning to take on a constitutional crisis alone, but I can take on part of it — how to protect the public by strengthening the civil service. When you have the right people at the table, almost any crisis can turn into an opportunity!
Understanding the constitutional crisis
First, let us fully appreciate what a hole we dug for ourselves. Thoughtful voices have already dissected how we arrived at this juncture. Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny and Anne Applebaum’s Autocracy, Inc. offer sobering analyses. Former Court of Appeals’ Judge Michael Luttig’s piece in The Atlantic, “The End of Rule of Law in America,” lays bare the administration’s legal freefall. Even retired Army General Stanley McChrystal, who is a strong supporter for national service, in “On Character: Choices that Define a Life,” invites us to reevaluate who we are and what kind of nation we want to be.
The warnings were always there. We saw the storm approaching and somehow allowed it to break over us.
Where can I go from here?
Instead of despair, this moment demands action. Here are my two priorities:
- Take care of those around us — supporting colleagues, allies and public servants trying to navigate the chaos.
- Begin the work of rebuilding — strengthening the civil service that has suffered from neglect.
In my own expertise — civil service laws, human capital policies and federal employment protections — I’ve taken on pro bono projects to support federal employees to help them navigate options and the appeal’s processes. I’ve engaged with key stakeholders — government accountability groups, law firms, unions and media organizations — to help educate, inform and issue spot challenges and opportunities. This is triage. But triage alone is not enough.
Learning from the past: Watergate and reform
History tells us that reform often follows crisis. In the aftermath of Watergate, an overwhelming majority of Congress — 95% — rallied to pass the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. That legislation birthed the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the Office of Personnel Management, while strengthening federal employment laws in the process.
Could today’s unraveling lead to another era of renewal? It must.
A roadmap for civil service renewal
The federal workforce has operated under outdated frameworks for decades. Layer upon layer of legislation, scattered across agency-specific statutes and national defense authorizations, have created a labyrinth of obstacles since 1978. For example, today there are 120 hiring authorities, 28 separate pay systems and a fractured approach to training and human resources technologies that supervisors and HR professionals must navigate to hire one employee. At times, hiring within the federal government feels closer to miracle than process. The constant scaffolding of recruiting, hiring, performance management, accountability and HR IT systems have been crumbling around us for decades. Rather than taking an honest and strategic approach to reform, the current administration has exploited these challenges to drag us back to the spoils’ system to enable an unitarian President to eventually hire and fire all federal employees at will.
The solution is clear. Reform must be led by those who know the system best: former career CHCOs, employment attorneys, hiring officials, union leaders and experts in federal HR IT systems. An independent review panel, much like the one assembled in 1978, could put forward a serious set of legislative proposals for Congress and the next administration to build upon and strengthen the 1978 law.
For years, career CHCOs have pleaded for change, only to see their proposals sidelined. I have either led or been on over a dozen CHCO Council working groups to address and propose laws and regulations on hiring reform, career paths, closing mission critical skill gaps, professionalizing human resources, and strengthening performance management and accountability, only to see incremental changes.
Ultimately, significant human capital reforms are held hostage to a range of realities: a lack of political courage, Non-aligned budget priorities, or, more tragically, the indifference due to the constant political drumbeat to minimize and debase the federal workforce. This administration has taken that tired dogma to a new level of hate and vitriol that we have never seen before resulting in “trauma” for trauma sake. Who does this to their own people?
I often hear from leaders “mission first — people always,” but I have not seen it fully demonstrated in any congressional budget document I’ve read. For me, I took to heart that national service, which includes federal service, was to take on this nation’s biggest problems — not to be recognized, but to be part of something bigger and to make a difference. This is beautifully captured by what attracted me to the Peace Corps when I was young — “the toughest job you will ever love.” Like many in my federal cohort, I believe we share that same passion for the work we are doing and did! This passion for service has also been championed by the Partnership for Public Service, and in Michael Lewis’ new book, “Who is Government: The Untold Story of Public Service.”
Who better to tell this story and to propose bold new civil service solutions. Now is the time to listen to the CHCOs.
Bringing together the real experts
Public service is more than just a job. It is a calling to a vision that transcends politics — a vision of governance rooted in merit, fairness and accountability. When the current pendulum swings away from these authoritarian impulses, civil service reform will not wait for a perfect moment. It must begin in the trenches, forged by those who have long understood the problems and have fought to solve them. We can and we must design a federal workforce that meets the demands for the 21st century and not digress to the 19th century spoils system. Prior to the so-called “U.S DOGE Service,” I worked with the real U.S. Digital Service at the Department of the Interior to cut in half the time to recruit and select IT specialists. We can scale and innovate with the right people at the table. We can ensure accountability through transparency. We can change the narrative on what federal employees do every day to improve and protect this nation. We got this!
The real superheroes in this battle are not abstract figures. They don’t wear goofy hats and t-shirts. They are the experts, the advocates, the honest-brokers and public servants who have kept this post-spoils system nation afloat despite its constraints. It is time for them to be at the table. In the words of John Mellencamp in Peaceful World, “It’s what you do and not what you say — if you’re not part of the future, then get out of the way.” CHCOs assemble!
Raymond Limon served in various executive human capital and legal positions at the Office of Personnel Management, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the State Department, the Department of the Interior and the Merit Systems Protection Board.
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