Trump plan to install loyalists would be blow to competent government

+ what archivists picked up at the RNC US Edition - Today's top story: Donald Trump wants to reinstate a spoils system in federal government by hiring political loyalists regardless of competence [View in browser]( US Edition | 18 July 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( It’s not easy to pick a standout story to write about following another week of nonstop breaking news on the politics front. After federal judge [Aileen Cannon threw out the classified documents case]( against former President Donald Trump – which came after [the assassination]( [attempt on Trump](, which came after all the news [tied to President Joe Biden’s age]( and his wavering re-election bid, which came after the Supreme Court decided a [watershed case on presidential immunity](, which came before [Trump’s vice president pick]( – you’ll understand why my husband, also a journalist, shook his head and described our team of politics editors aptly: “You are emergency room doctors on a Saturday night.” There was so much news that it was easy to miss some of the substantive coverage we produced on other topics. One such story was written by two law professors, Sidney Shapiro at Wake Forest University and Joseph P. Tomain at the University of Cincinnati. The two wrote about Trump’s support for a plan to give the president “[the authority to fire as many as 50,000 civil servants]( and replace them with members of his political party loyal to him.” That’s not a new idea, write Shapiro and Tomain. It’s an old one, carried out by Trump’s favorite president – Andrew Jackson. And it didn’t work out too well. After he took office in 1828, Jackson “fired about half the country’s civil servants and replaced them with loyal members of his political party. The result was not only an utterly incompetent administration, but widespread corruption.” Ultimately, the two write, Congress abolished Jackson’s spoils system and passed legislation that “established the merit appointment system still used today.” Also in this week’s politics news: - [Stemming social media’s attacks and conspiracy theories]( - [How the Heritage Foundation and ‘Project 2025’ became so influential]( - [The Black fugitive who inspired ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’]( Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Democracy Then-President Donald Trump standing underneath a portrait of Andrew Jackson in November 2017. Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images) [Donald Trump wants to reinstate a spoils system in federal government by hiring political loyalists regardless of competence]( Sidney Shapiro, Wake Forest University; Joseph P. Tomain, University of Cincinnati if political loyalty replaces merit as the basis of key federal appointments, Americans can expect government to be less competent – as Andrew Jackson learned during his administration President Joe Biden makes his way to Marine One, flanked by aides and staff, in May 2024. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images [Biden isn’t the first to struggle to pop the presidential bubble that divides him from the public]( Shannon Bow O'Brien, The University of Texas at Austin Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and other presidents showed that getting limited information as president can have some benefits – but also risks. U.S. Secret Service agents help former President Donald Trump offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images [‘One inch from a potential civil war’ – near miss in Trump shooting is also a close call for American democracy]( Arie Perliger, UMass Lowell A scholar of political assassinations says the US just narrowly avoided plunging into wholesale violence and potential civil war when Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt. [‘MAGA BLACK’ hats, clear swag bags, the first Trump/Vance signs: Highlights of what the Smithsonian is archiving from the Republican convention]( Claire Jerry, Smithsonian Institution; Jon Grinspan, Smithsonian Institution Tight security may be the reason that the GOP Convention isn’t filled with the homemade, and often wacky, stuff that’s usually found by Smithsonian political ephemera curators at the event. [Trump-appointed federal judge rules Trump’s classified document case is unconstitutional – here’s how special counsels have been authorized before]( Joshua Holzer, Westminster College In 1988, the US Supreme Court ruled that independent counsels were constitutional. [Trump assassination attempt reveals a major security breakdown – but doesn’t necessarily heighten the risk for political violence]( Javed Ali, University of Michigan Lone wolf attackers like Matthew Thomas Crooks pose the greatest security threats in the country – and are hardest to prevent. [How Trump’s appeal to nostalgia deliberately evokes America’s more-racist, more-sexist past]( Spencer Goidel, Auburn University Independent voters who feel high levels of nostalgia were more likely to vote for Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections. - [Voting rights at risk after Supreme Court makes it harder to challenge racial gerrymandering]( Sam D. Hayes, Trinity College In two recent rulings, the conservative justices handed state lawmakers new power to redraw congressional maps to their liking – including in ways that end up diluting the Black vote. - [Supreme Court’s blow to federal agencies’ power will likely weaken abortion rights – 3 issues to watch]( Jessica L. Waters, American University The Supreme Court’s recent ruling means that judges will have more power than scientific experts in determining whether people should be able to get an emergency abortion, for example. - [After more than 40 years, the federal right to free education for immigrant students finds itself in the crosshairs of conservatives]( Tara Sonenshine, Tufts University Critics say undocumented students put a strain on limited school resources, but research suggests otherwise. - [Pennsylvania continues tradition as ‘keystone state’ in presidential elections]( Robert Speel, Penn State At the time of independence, Pennsylvania was also at the geographical center of the 13 original Colonies. It remains a focal point of American politics, and a swing state. - [Odds are that gambling on the Biden/Trump competition will further reduce the presidential campaign to a horse race]( - [7 ways to avoid becoming a misinformation superspreader when the news is shocking]( - [The Black fugitive who inspired ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ and the end of US slavery]( - [Social media and political violence – how to break the cycle]( - [Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project 2025’ is just the latest action plan from a group with an over 50-year history of steering GOP lawmaking]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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