Jody Hice is a member of Congress and a candidate for Georgia Secretary of State. He is endorsed by Donald Trump. He has an opinion on the work ethic of federal workers. Though it may be hard to hear him speak with Trump’s hand up his back.

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Hice: The federal government should work on behalf of the American taxpayer, not the other way around.

As the ranking Republican member on the House of Representatives’ Government Operations Subcommittee, I serve as the point person for House Republicans on the day-to-day functioning of the federal government – how it buys things, how it’s organized, how it uses information technology. We strive to make sure you – the American taxpayer – get the best services possible.

And I will be the first to admit it can be an uphill battle fighting against the entrenched bureaucracy of the federal government. One of the biggest challenges includes addressing the ongoing federal workforce issues.

At a recent rally in South Carolina, President Trump suggested federal workers should all be at-will employees, meaning their employment can face termination at any time for any reason – excluding illegal reasons, of course, such as discrimination. This would be a significant shift from the current system, one he tried to reform while in office, where federal employees are protected from discipline or removal in all but the most extreme cases. President Trump is right to raise the issue.

Since President Biden took office, Democrats have only sought to coddle what they view as a core constituency by removing accountability in the workplace and seeking to heap on more and more benefits for bureaucrats. For example, while Trump established paid parental leave, Democrats sought to vastly expand this to paid leave to the tune of $16 billion. They offered additional paid leave for any number of COVID-related reasons.

They are now looking to make telework and remote work the norm – without any concern for how it will impact service levels on a grander scale. For instance, you can’t issue passports from your couch without considering how it will affect the whole system. Democrats do this in the name of “revitalizing” the federal workforce, despite the fact feds were more satisfied under Trump than President Obama – precisely because Trump worked hard to hold everyone accountable. The bottom line is this: federal workers are employed to serve the American people.

Since coming to Congress, I have been amazed at how much time some federal employees spend not doing their jobs – they spend it on union activities. Call me crazy, but if you are going to draw a salary from the taxpayer, you should do what you were hired to do…

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For example, it recently took eight years for one agency to negotiate a deal with its union. Absurd. And a total disgrace to the American taxpayers who are paying for it out of pocket.  Democrats like to talk about how the federal government should be a model employer, but they use this as an excuse to reward federal employee unions. But unfortunately, they forget the best employers uphold high standards and keep the focus on the customer.