These awards honor the best US civil servants. What 鈥榖est鈥� means may be changing.
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Caitlin Babcock Staff writer
| Washington
The Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit working to improve government, is sifting through nominations for an annual awards ceremony honoring federal workers this spring 鈥� an event that鈥檚 moving forward despite a year of upheaval that threatens to change how good civil service is defined.
The most recent ceremony for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, or the 鈥淪ammies,鈥� illustrated the tensions of honoring civil service during the Trump administration, which has fired tens of thousands of federal employees and criticized others as unnecessary or working against the interests of Americans. Honorees in June 鈥� including one who helped return $1.2 billion in stolen COVID-19 relief funds and another who reduced wait times in the United States passport system 鈥� were not asked to stand on the stage or to speak, the Partnership鈥檚 CEO Max Stier says. He wanted to protect them from being singled out by Trump administration cost-cutters.
The only award winner to speak at the summer ceremony was David Lebryk, the Sammies federal employee of the year, formerly the Treasury Department鈥檚 acting secretary, who was cited for effectively overseeing the government鈥檚 finance operations. Mr. Lebryk had already left his job following a clash with allies of then-Trump adviser Elon Musk after he resisted efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to access the department鈥檚 payment system.
Why We Wrote This
The Trump administration鈥檚 cuts and changes to the federal workforce have forced groups that reward good governance to reckon with new norms for outstanding public service.
Amid these tensions, Sammies鈥� staff are trying to figure out how to continue a decades-long tradition of honoring those who, they say, significantly improve Americans鈥� lives.
The complications with the awards ceremony reflect a tension over the role of the government鈥檚 bureaucrats, also known as civil servants 鈥� the people responsible for everything from operating national parks to ensuring food safety. To insulate them from political pressure, these workers cannot be fired without cause. And they are expected to serve as nonpartisan experts who can keep the government running smoothly from one administration to the next.
But Mr. Trump has enacted sweeping changes to the federal workforce 鈥� cutting staff, introducing merit-based hiring criteria, and asking federal workers to show support for the administration鈥檚 goals. He may be able to go further: The Supreme Court appears poised to allow the Trump administration to have direct control over agency leadership, even though Congress established the agencies as independent of the presidency.
鈥淲e鈥檙e breaking what had been more or less a century-long system where we have political appointees,鈥欌�� says Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. 鈥淏ut we also had a civil service system that was intended to maintain continuity, expertise, and non-partisanship as core values in our government.鈥�
The drastic reductions and other changes are something the Trump administration and many Republicans say is needed to ensure government efficiency. And the administration鈥檚 actions show it鈥檚 elevating its own vision of good governance, redefining the ideal these awards have honored and how the civil service has operated for the last 140 years.
A lifelong calling
Another program, the Arthur S. Flemming Awards, is run through George Washington University and similarly seeks to honor federal employees who find innovative approaches to sticky problems. But the Flemming awards have an additional criterion: they go only to people who have spent three to 15 years in government. That鈥檚 to encourage employees to view their work not as a stopgap, but as a long-term commitment.
鈥淧ublic service is a calling,鈥� says Kathryn Newcomer, president of the awards commission. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just a plain old job or way to make money, but it鈥檚 something that you really believe in.鈥�
She鈥檚 thinking of people like Alex Maranghides. After almost a quarter century of research, this Sammies finalist created lifesaving guidance to protect evacuees during wildfires.
In the field where he works, he says, it can take decades for someone to gain a high level of expertise.
In fact, Mr. Maranghides retired from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in April. But he鈥檚 still working, without pay, trying to make sure the newest generation is well prepared to carry on the work.
鈥淚t鈥檚 absolutely essential, because if we break that chain, then it鈥檚 going to be extremely hard to rebuild,鈥� he says.
But Daniel Greenberg, a senior legal fellow at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, says a culture that honors longevity comes with trade-offs. Firing poor performers who have been longtime loyal workers can be difficult, and, he adds, the Trump administration is trying to change that culture.
Mr. Greenberg says the Trump administration may be trying to model the federal workforce on a characteristic of the gig economy, where a 鈥済ifted administrator鈥� comes in for a short period only, mainly to make structural changes. Then that administrator moves on.
鈥淚f you have that type of model, that suggests a different kind of workforce and different kinds of incentives,鈥� he says.
Loyalty and efficiency
Mr. Musk, a billionaire whom Mr. Trump brought on to run the new Department of Government Efficiency, at one point required federal employees to list five things they had accomplished that week. (The Office of Personnel Management the requirement in August, but it still encouraged managers to track their employees鈥� progress.)
The OPM has also new regulations that prioritize performance over length of service when deciding which employees to keep.
鈥淧resident Trump rightfully recognizes that the federal government needs to operate on the same fundamental practices [as] do all modern organizations writ large,鈥� wrote OPM Director Scott Kupor in an October blog about the agency.
Mr. Greenberg says that he understands why Mr. Trump has sought to reform the federal workforce.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a car salesman, there鈥檚 a reason that your pay is contingent on how many cars you sell,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 relatively easy to measure the value of a worker to a business in many parts of the private sector. It鈥檚 really hard ... in the public sector.鈥�
The Trump administration is also emphasizing support for its priorities. In late May, the OPM implemented a new 鈥渕erit hiring program鈥� that includes four open-ended essay questions for applicants to federal positions at certain levels to complete. One question asks applicants to identify Trump executive orders or policy priorities that are 鈥渟ignificant to you,鈥� and explain how, as government employees, they would help implement them.
Civil servants typically serve across several administrations and are required to carry out each president鈥檚 policy priorities. However, they are also intended to be nonpartisan, and some experts see the Trump administration鈥檚 new job-applicant questions as contrary to that goal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 never been the case in the past that civil servants were told to demonstrate how they were aligned with the president鈥檚 goals, and that鈥檚 because we expect them to serve presidents of both parties,鈥� says Mr. Moynihan.
Mr. Stier, head of the organization that gives out the Sammies awards, is still working to plan how next year鈥檚 ceremonies will function in the changing government climate. They鈥檝e already made a few changes: He plans to hold the awards months earlier than their usual fall date since 鈥渨e don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 coming around the pike,鈥� and recipients may include people the government no longer employs.
Still, the awards program is moving forward.
鈥淲e need to not just focus on what is being broken right now, but think about what needs to change and what we can change,鈥� says Mr. Stier. 鈥淎nd this idea of building a recognition culture for our government is really important.鈥�
