Protecting Democracy: Safeguarding the Civil Service Protecting Democracy Safeguarding the Civil Service The backbone of our federal government is the more than 2 million career civil servants who work in communities across the country to make our nation safer, healthier and more prosperous. These are the people who care for our public lands, ensure our food and water are clean, help veterans and seniors access their benefits, protect public health, provide disaster relief and keep us safe when we travel. Our democracy depends on their commitment to the public good, and our nation is stronger because of their experience and expertise. Yet mounting efforts to politicize the federal workforce put the safety and security of the country at risk. Instead of enabling our government to work better, these proposals would strip it of expertise and weaken the ability of career federal employees to provide vital public services. Our country needs a more meaningful conversation about how to improve the way our government functions. Together, we can lead that conversation and create a more fair, responsive and accountable government, while also supporting a nonpartisan civil service. Join us in this effort and sign up here to work with us in advancing democracy and ensuring a nonpartisan, merit-based federal workforce. Who Are Civil Servants? Public Perceptions of Government Our Vision for a Better Government How to Champion the Civil Service Related Content About the Partnership for Public Service The Partnership for Public Service is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to building a better government and a stronger democracy. Stay Involved Sign up to receive updates on our work to protect the nonpartisan civil service. Who Are Civil Servants? Our nation’s civil servants are composed of roughly 2 million individuals who work in communities across the country and around the world. They are our family members, our friends and our neighbors. In fact, 80% of federal employees live and work away from our nation’s capital. While policies and priorities are typically set at headquarters in the Washington, D.C., area, employees in the field do much of the day-to-day work of delivering on the mission of our government. They care for our veterans, support our farmers, inspect our roads and bridges, protect our food supply and respond to disasters. Notably, more than 70% of career civil servants work in defense and security-related agencies, and veterans make up nearly one-third of the career federal workforce. These career civil servants are hired based on their merit and expertise—not their political beliefs or party. The merit-based and apolitical nature of the federal civil service ensures that these employees are qualified and committed to serving the public good and upholding the Constitution above all else. Watch the below explainer video to learn more about the civil service. To protect the federal workforce and improve the way government works, we first need to understand it. In our latest Fed Figures report, a Profile of the 2023 Federal Workforce, we analyzed workforce data to highlight characteristics and trends within one of our nation’s greatest assets—the federal civil service. These analyses enable us to better comprehend the strengths of our government and the challenges it may encounter. Read more Christopher Mark inside the Phillips-Sprague Mine, also known as the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, in July in Beckley, W.Va. (Kent Nishimura for The Washington Post) Who Is Government? The series Who Is Government was launched by the Washington Post in September 2024 and places a spotlight on the exemplary federal employees whose dedication and commitment drive the essential functions of government that impact our daily lives. The Canary | by Michael Lewis The Sentinel | by Casey Cep The Searchers | by Dave Eggers The Number | by John Lanchester The Cyber Sleuth | by Geraldine Brooks The Equalizer | by Sarah Vowell The Rookie | by W. Kamau Bell Directions to a Journalistic Goldmine | by Michael Lewis Public Service 101: Five Things You Should Know About Civil Servants People often equate the federal government with Congress and elected leaders, but our government encompasses so much more than that. There are more than 2 million civil servants responsible for issues vital to the health of our nation, from ensuring national security to administering health insurance programs and so much more. Yet many people don’t know who civil servants are or what they do—we’re here to tell you! Watch our video to learn more about the federal civil service and the hard work civil servants do every day. Public Perceptions of Government Overall trust in, and public perceptions of, government have been on the decline since the 1960s. Although trust in our federal government remains low, there is overwhelming support for a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service that acts in the public interest. Career public servants hold critical roles that will be jeopardized if the civil service is politicized. Read our 2024 report on the state of trust in government and on public perceptions of public servants, and view our dashboard highlighting our latest trust data. Public Perceptions: The Data 23% Of Americans trust the federal government compared with 63% who do not 31% Believe the federal government has a positive impact on the United States 91% Believe having competent civil servants is important for a strong American democracy 95% Agree civil servants should be hired and promoted based on their merit rather than their political beliefs This data comes from a nationally representative survey of 800 Americans from March 25 to April 1, 2024. Surveys were conducted in English and Spanish and had a margin of error of +- 3.5 percentage points. Our Vision for aBetter Government The Partnership has outlined the five most important reforms to provide our government with what it needs most: a way to offer the public simple and timely access to critical services that help keep our country safe and secure, and highly qualified federal leaders and employees who are committed to the public trust and are good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Read our recommendations How to Champion the Civil Service Career civil servants are a conduit between federal agencies and the public, ensuring that the services we expect from our government are delivered to all. Championing their work and impact—and their role as nonpartisan employees committed to the public good—is critical to reinvigorating faith in government. The Partnership’s research has identified three core strategies to help advance a positive vision of the nation’s civil service. (National Institutes of Health) 1. Strategic messaging Career federal employees make our nation safer, stronger, healthier, more prosperous and more equitable. They are responsible for many noteworthy and inspiring accomplishments, most of which are seldom told. Public perceptions of the federal workforce and our government are shaped by negative narratives that people hear in the news, on social media and in popular culture. We built this messaging toolkit to help the public better understand what career civil servants do and how they impact our country. Based on empirical research and decades of experience working in the federal space, we’ve developed a set of messages to help organizations and individuals consistently communicate and produce a steady stream of stories that improve perceptions of career federal employees. Please use and tailor these messages to best suit the needs of your audience. 2. Storytelling Clarify the role and impact of the federal government and the career civil service. To better understand the role of public servants and their impact on the country, people need to hear stories of the hard work that career federal employees do every day. Use our database of civil servant stories and their impact to share these stories with your constituents and help grow understanding of and appreciation for the role of these individuals in our democracy, in serving the public and in protecting our national security. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tyrell K. Morris) (NRCS photo by Brandon O’Connor) 3. Advocacy throughcoalition building It is critical to build buy-in for positive civil service reform across sectors by sharing ideas to make government work better—and the consequences of a more political federal workforce—with your networks and with leaders in government, business, philanthropy, the media and democracy protection organizations. The Partnership stands ready to work with you to advance a more effective government. Contact us to discuss how we can work together to protect and advance our democracy. Related Content THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Public Service Leadership Model The Partnership’s Public Service Leadership Model seeks to set the standard for effective federal leadership. It identifies four key competencies—self-awareness, achieving results, leading change and engaging others—that federal leaders should possess to better serve our country and meet the complex challenges of the 21st century. VIDEOS Our Government Explained Video Series It is easy to forget how the federal government supports and improves our daily lives. This video series explores how our government—and its career civil servants—contribute to the public good and move the country forward. MEDIA News Articles and Op-Eds Washington Post | Trump plans to replace the civil service with a government of amateurs.The Washington Post examines how declining trust in government is helping to fuel attacks on the nonpartisan civil service, featuring polling data and recommendations from the Partnership’s 2024 trust report. Chicago Sun Times | Our federal government is bloated with political appointees, and that weakens democracy Partnership President and CEO Max Stier explains why we need to reduce the number of political appointees to help our government more effectively address challenges facing the country. Politico | ‘A very large earthquake’: How Trump could decimate the civil service In an interview with Politico, Partnership President and CEO Max Stier highlights the importance of a merit-based, nonpartisan civil service to our democracy and explains why proposals to convert members of the career workforce to at-will political appointees would harm the public. Partnership for Public Service statement on OPM merit system rule Partnership President and CEO Max Stier commends the Office of Personnel Management’s final rule to safeguard the civil service from partisan interference and emphasizes the need for agencies and the administration to make government more responsive, transparent and accountable.