Questionable hires (Big Balls? really?) highlight Trump's disregard for the federal workforce and make us less safe

By Gail Helt

My 11+ years at CIA were the honor of my life. I wanted to serve my country, the Agency gave me that opportunity, and I remain incredibly grateful to this day. And as much as I valued the opportunities and trust I was given, I felt valued in return. For example, I once had to cut short a TDY because of a poorly-timed kidney stone (the pain was so incredible, and set in so quickly that I nearly tossed my breakfast in a historic building in a less-than-friendly country). Not only did people at our consulate jump through hoops to ensure I received medical treatment, but a manager and a colleague met me at the airport upon my return to the US to make sure I was well enough to get myself home. When I had major spinal surgery later that same year, it was my team chief who dropped what he was doing on Christmas Eve to drive me home from the hospital. Excellent Performance Awards were given when I went above and beyond. I never felt unappreciated by my managers (one brief stint being the exception) and I know my colleagues generally had the same experience. When I received a call that my father had a heart attack, no one batted an eye when I called my team chief and told him I was going to Pennsylvania and didn’t know when I would be back. Dad died before I could arrive home; at the funeral, there was a lovely ficus tree from my CIA colleagues.

And in return, I worked my butt off. Its amazing how being treated as a human being inspires one’s work ethic. I gladly put in long hours without claiming overtime. Late nights on a task force for weeks on end were a joy. Hanging out alone in the very creepy vault at 11pm while waiting for edits on a PDB article? Its an honor. Arriving at 3:30am to brief the briefers who are briefing the President about the content of that PDB article? Sign me up. All the training and expertise-building, even hostile coordination sessions were worth it. I loved every minute of it. That level of dedication exists across the Agency, and I presume it exists across government, as everyone I ever interacted with in any department was clearly dedicated to public service. That level of dedication is essential to national security, and we knew it—as did our managers, the White House, and for the most part, Congress.

Yesterday President Trump appointed a high-school graduate known as—heaven help me—“Big Balls” (his given name is Edward Coristine) as a GS-15 adviser to the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). He is a 20-year-old high school graduate who previously worked briefly for Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Now, GS-15 is a grade reserved for people with decades of experience, advanced degrees, expertise, and competence (for comparison, a new hire with a Master’s degree probably enters as a GS-9). “Big Balls” has none of those things; instead, he brings five months of disabling government functions, gutting the national security apparatus, and loyalty to Elon Musk and Donald Trump. This is a slap in the face of every federal employee—especially those who have worked years, if not decades, for their GS-15--and to every applicant for a government position who has at the very minimum a college degree. I cannot imagine the level of frustration across the civil service by this ridiculous hiring choice.

But it gets worse (scary that “worse” is possible). Yesterday brought a stunning piece by Propublica telling us that the new head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, which helps prevent terrorism, will be a young man, barely out of his teens, named Thomas Fugate, aged 22. He graduated from college a year ago and certainly is neither qualified nor competent to assume any leadership role, much less one that is so important to America’s security. The office might as well be leaderless. As Propublica pointed out, “in the past seven weeks, at least five high profile targeted attacks have unfolded across the US, including a car bombing in California, and the gunning down of two Israeli embassy aides in Washington.” The implications of such an ill-conceived appointment are clear, and make Americans less safe.

Fugate’s appointment might suggest that the Trump administration does not care about domestic threats to the nation (which is certainly true when those attacks are from right-wing groups, judging by the individuals he has chosen to pardon), but if that were the sum of it, he would just de-staff the unit entirely. But this appointment also highlights the disregard Trump holds for what the government actually does. If a 22-year old with no experience can run the office, what does that say about the work that is performed there? If “Big Balls” can enter as a GS-15, what does that tell everyone else who has earned that grade through merit about the value of their work? What does it say to the GS-9’s, 11’s, 13’s…? It says they are not valued. It tells them their work doesn’t matter—loyalty to Trump does. It also tells people who seek to harm us that the odds of doing so are more favorable now that Trump is in office.

But Trump’s disregard for the federal workforce and apathy for national security don’t end there. There are rumors that Trump wants broad reductions in force (RIFs) across government agencies next year. Imagine going to work in an office already decimated by the idiocy of DOGE cuts, doing the work of several people, and hearing the President say those cuts are insufficient. DOGE appointees have compromised the safety of some CIA officers, impacting their jobs in ways that will make it more difficult to collect intelligence abroad. Some months ago, the names of probationary employees at CIA were sent via unclassified email to the White House despite the fact that many of these individuals reportedly were hired to work on hard target countries. Now that their names were transmitted via unclassified email, they will never be able to deploy to those countries. Or imagine not knowing whether the briefing you have been tasked to deliver to a Cabinet member will so enrage him that he demands you be fired, or worse—that he outs you publicly. Imagine despite all this, you still work your butt off—because you are loyal to this country and to the constitution and you honor your Oath—and there is no basic respect, no recognition for that work because this administration simply doesn’t value it. It doesn’t value YOU. Case in point: Office of Management and Budget Director Russel Vought said he wants federal employees to be “traumatically affected” by what DOGE (and Project 2025) are doing, so much so that they do not want to go to work. Devaluing the workforce is a Trump administration goal.

The way this disregard is playing out is a real national security threat. Morale is low, and demoralized people will not continue to work long hours if their hard work only gets them demonized, and yes, “traumatically affected.” People preoccupied with a fear of losing their jobs, their homes, and possibly their clearances (which means they would be unable to get a job elsewhere in government) will likely find it hard to give their best—its simply not possible under this kind of strain. What else will slip through the cracks, unnoticed until something blows up (either metaphorically or literally)? It takes a LOT of man hours to monitor a single hostile country; we need more people working China, Russia, terrorism, Iran, North Korea, proliferation, etc, not fewer, and those people need to know their government and their fellow Americans have their backs. While I hate giving voice to this fear, this kind of environment is a breeding ground for the kind of resentment that could prompt someone to leak sensitive information to an enemy or to the media, or to offer to spy outright. In fact, that has already happened. In late May, an employee at the Defense Intelligence Agency was charged with offering to provide sensitive material to a foreign country because he did not agree with the values of the current administration. Let me be clear: the vast, vast majority of federal employees would never do this. However, creating an environment of distrust and contempt may push others to the breaking point, and some hostile nations would likely accept such an offer.

Beyond this obvious threat to national security, the ill-treatment and total disregard for the efforts, expertise, and well-being of federal employees also sends a message to young people who aspire to public service at a time when we desperately need young people in our government. Why would any of our best and brightest consider bringing their talents to the federal government when they see current federal employees being brutalized by incompetent and unqualified minions of two guys (Trump and Musk) who have exhibited neither an understanding of government functions, ethics, or decency, while ensuring he gets billions more from the government in contracts at the same time—and no one stands up to stop it? Why would our best and brightest want to serve when their expertise and academic accomplishments are less important than their responses to a four-question survey meant to determine their loyalty to Donald Trump?