The editorial board of a major U.S. newspaper is calling a foul on President Donald Trump's recent move that changed how federal agencies hire crucial decision-makers.
In the wake of a July 10 executive order that altered how agencies hire administrative law judges (ALJs), the Los Angeles Times issued a warning Friday.
The executive order gives agencies the power to hire whoever they would like to serve as ALJs, a change from the previous practice of selecting candidates from a pool of people put together based on merit.
"ALJs hired in the future will be given 'excepted service' status rather than the 'competitive service' status enjoyed by these judges in the past," the Times wrote. "That means agency officials can appoint whom they like, based on a subjective judgment of the applicant's 'temperament, legal acumen, impartiality, and judgment.'"
The policy change is purely a political move, the Times' editorial board argued. Trump signed the order after a Supreme Court decision upheld a challenge to ALJs.
"Rather than a prudent response to the court's decision, the president's order looks like an opportunistic attempt to disguise a politicizing policy change as compliance with a court decree," the Times wrote.
"If he persists in this course, Congress should move to restore the previous system with its emphasis on merit and professionalism."
There are roughly 1,900 ALJs at federal agencies, with somewhere around 1,600 of them working at the Social Security Administration, The Washington Post reported. They hear and rule on administrative cases and are part of the executive branch of government.
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