Effective at noon on January 22, 2017, department heads of the federal government were instructed to halt all hiring with the exception of military personnel and those considered vital to national security interests.
The order was explicit:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order a freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees to be applied across the board in the executive branch. As part of this freeze, no vacant positions existing at noon on January 22, 2017, may be filled and no new positions may be created, except in limited circumstances. This order does not include or apply to military personnel. The head of any executive department or agency may exempt from the hiring freeze any positions that it deems necessary to meet national security or public safety responsibilities. In addition, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may grant exemptions from this freeze where those exemptions are otherwise necessary.
It looks like that a lot of government agencies missed the memo.
Since the executive order was signed by President Trump, the following non-military jobs were posted on the government’s hiring site, USAJobs.com
Posted 1/24/17: Criminal Investigator for the Department of State. Salary ranges from $54,972 to $71,467 per year.
Posted 1/23/17: Theater Specialist for the Department of the Interior. Salary of $36,281 to $47,171 per year.
Posted 1/23/17: Student Trainee (Clerical) for the U.S. Attorney’s office. Salary of $28,886 to $37,557 per year.
Posted 1/23/17: Laborer for the National Park Service. Hourly wage of $15.50 to $18.08.
Posted 1/23/17: Physician for the Department of Veterans Affairs (which is likely a reasonable hire). Salary of $120,000 to $262,000 per year.
Posted 1/23/17: Animal Keeper for the National Zoological Parks. Hourly wage of $19.03 to $22.21.
Posted on 1/23/17: Park Guide for the National Park Service. Pays $14.89 an hour.
Posted 1/23/17: Stage Door Aide for the National Park Service. Pays a salary of $28,886 to $37,557 per year.
Posted 1/24/17: Animal Keeper (Cheetahs) for the National Zoological Park in Front Royal, Virgina. Pays a measly $19 to $22 per hour to “care, feed, exhibit” Cheetahs.
The above are just a sampling of jobs posted since the 22nd . . . in Virginia alone.
The following civilian jobs were also posted by branches of the military but clearly do not fall under the exemption of “military personnel” as that would only apply to members of the armed forces – whether officer or enlisted.
Posted FOUR TIMES on 1/23/17: Student Trainee/Intern for the Department of the Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command. Salary ranges from $23,547 to $64,699 per year. Again, this is an internship position that pays up to $65k per year. Whoa.
Posted 1/23/17: Sales Clerk for the Department of the Navy. Pays $7.25 to $13.73 per hour.
Posted 1/23/17: Assistant Buyer for the Marine Corps. Salary of $35,000 to $55,000 per year.
Posted 1/24/16: Water for the Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, VA. Pays $7.81 to 9.11 per hour – plus tips!
Posted 1/23/17: Dock Attendant for the Navy in Norfolks, VA. Pays $7.25 to $8.75 per hour.
Posted 1/23/17: Accountant for the U.S. Marine Corps in Quantico. Salary ranges from $50,000 to $65,000 per year.
A total of 67 non-military personnel jobs were posted since the signing of the hiring freeze, and that’s only from a search in Virginia for jobs open to the public.
Another 92 jobs were posted in the District of Columbia that are open to the public, and another 203 that are open to current federal employees.
Who is in charge of the federal government? The President of the United States or hired bureaucrats?
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