Open Letter on Trump Administration Management Practices
Dear Fellow Citizens,
We write this letter out of a sense of grave urgency about the future of democratic government in our wonderful country. We do not write on behalf of, or as representatives of, the many organizations and institutions to which we belong, or where we are employed. We write as individuals who have devoted our professional careers through practice, teaching and research -- to improving the quality of governmental management and the delivery of public services at the local, state and national levels. Some of us have been involved in government in a partisan manner, working both in Republican and Democratic administrations. The majority of us have not. In many cases, we have not previously been involved in any political campaign activity, but we have long been involved in working to enable government to deliver critically important public services to all of the American people ever more effectively and equitably.
We feel compelled, however, to speak out against something that we have never before seen in our professional careers: specifically, the intentional degradation and weaponization by many Trump administration appointees of bad public management as a purposeful strategy to influence and shape public policy. We will be the first to acknowledge that since the 1970s, Federal government management, as directed by succeeding Presidential administrations, has seen both its ups and its downs, but never has there been such blatantly irresponsible and intentionally incompetent management, utilized to achieve specific political ends, as the country has witnessed during the past three and a half years.
Too many sad and tragic examples of this can be found in the numerous federal agencies led by political appointees—dealing with matters of the nation's health and welfare, its homeland and international security, its justice system and the environment—to list them all in detail here. However, these include many efforts to undermine traditional institutions of accountability; frequent efforts to control and manipulate scientific data and objective facts in a clearly deceptive manner for short term political ends; concerted efforts to undermine effective personnel and management practice to achieve narrow partisan goals; and a degree of senior leadership turnover truly unmatched in American history. Of particular concern regarding the instability created by the rapidly revolving door of senior leadership is the steady, sometimes stunning, decline in the professional qualifications and competence of each succeeding Trump appointee.
In conclusion, we would note that we write this letter not simply because of our concern about the immediate consequences of grievously negative, and often incompetent, politically appointed managers upon public services that are desperately needed in a time of pandemic. Nor is our greatest concern the obvious likelihood that such practices might actually become far worse in the next four years. Our gravest concern is the way that what has now become routine and intentional administrative malpractice by many Trump appointees serves to jeopardize long term public confidence in both the nation's democratic institutions and its political stability and thus undermines American democracy.
Allan Rosenbaum
President-elect, American Society for Public Administration.
Distinguished University Professor, Dept of Public Policy and Administration
Steven J Green School of international and Public Affairs
Florida International University
Don Moynihan
Past President, Public Management Research Association
McCourt Chair and Professor
McCourt School of Public Policy
Georgetown University
Kendra Stewart
President, American Society for Public Administration
Professor, Political Science
Director, Joseph Riley Center for Livable Communities
College of Charleston, South Carolina
Meredith Newman
Past President, American Society for Public Administration
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
William Shields, Jr.
Executive Director, American Society for Public Administration
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
James C. Scott
Sterling Professor of Political Science, Anthropology, and Environmental Studies
Founder and Co-director of the Program in Agrarian Studies
Yale University
Chris Ansell
Professor and Chair
Department of Political Science
University of California, Berkeley
Colm O’Muircheartaigh
Professor Harris School of Public Policy
University of Chicago
Don Klingner
University of Colorado Distinguished Professor
School of Public Affairs,
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Marc Holzer Past President, American Society for Public Administration
Distinguished Professor,
Institute of Public Service
Suffolk University, Boston
Stuart Shapiro
Associate Dean of Faculty
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Rutgers University
Dan Honig
Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins SAIS
Deborah A. Carroll
Associate Professor
University of Central Florida
Camilla Stivers
Albert A. Levin Professor of Urban Studies and Public Service (retired)
Cleveland State University
Edward Jennings
Professor Emeritus
Provost's Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy and Administration
Martin School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Kentucky
Parris N. Glendening
Governor of Maryland (1995-2003)
Prince George’s County, MD County Executive (1982-1994)
Associate Professor of Government and Politics, University of
Maryland, College Park (1967-1994)
Executive Visiting Professor, Johns Hopkins University,
Carey Business School
Sylvester Murray
Professor Emeritus, Cleveland State University
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Past President, International City Management Association
Past President, American Society for Public Administration
Past President, Conference of Minority Public Administrators
Robert B. Denhardt
Past President, American Society for Public Administration
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Patricia S. Florestano
ASPA Past President
Past Chairperson, State of Maryland Board of Regents
NAPA Fellow
Susan T. Gooden
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Past President, American Society for Public Administration
William G. Resh
Associate Professor
Sol Price School of Public Policy
Naomi B. Lynn
Past President, American Society for Public Administration
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Alejandro Rodriguez
Associate Professor of Public Administration
The University of Texas at Arlington
Department of Public Affairs and Planning
Deborah Le Blanc
Professor of Public Administration
College of Professional Studies
National University
Wynne Moskop
Professor of Political Science
Saint Louis University
Mary E. Guy
Past President, American Society for Public Administration
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Professor, University of Colorado Denver
Terry L. Cooper
Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration
Professor Emeritus of Public Policy
The Sol Price School of Public Policy
University of Southern California
Uday Desai
Former Director and Professor Emeritus
School of Public Administration
University of New Mexico
William Voorhees
Director Revenue and Tax, Retired
Baltimore City
N. Joseph Cayer
Professor Emeritus
Arizona State University
Jonathan P. West
Professor of Political Science
Director, MPA/MPP Program
University of Miami
Akhlaque Haque
Professor of Public Administration
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Guy B. Adams
Professor Emeritus
Harry S Truman School of Public Affairs
University of Missouri
Carmine Scavo
Professor Emeritus of Political Science
East Carolina University
Thomas Vocino
Professor and Department Head Emeritus
Auburn University at Montgomery
Robert Cropf
Professor of Political Science,
Saint Louis University
Philip M. Dodd-Nufrio
Professor of Public Policy and Administration
Metropolitan College of New York
Aziza Zemrani
Professor
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
James S. Bowman
Professor Emeritus
Askew School of Public Administration and Policy
Fellow, Academy of Public Administration
Danny L. Balfour
Professor of Public Administration
Grand Valley State University
Daniel A. Mazmanian
NASPAA, Past President
USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, Past Dean
Professor, Price School
Craig W. Shinn
Professor Emeritus
Mark O. Hatfield School of Government
Portland State University
Donald F. Norris
Professor Emeritus and former Director
School of Public Policy
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, MD
Louise K. Comfort
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Faculty Affiliate, Policy Lab, CITRIS, University of California, Berkeley
Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Bok Gyo Jeong
Assistant Professor
Department of Public Administration, Kean University
President, Nonprofit Section, American Society for Public Administration
Norma M. Riccucci
Past President, Public Management Research Association
Board of Governors Distinguished Professor
School of Public Affairs and Administration
Rutgers University, Newark
Wendy Haynes
Professor
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Associate Dean
College of Graduate Studies
Stephen E. Condrey
Past President, American Society for Public Administration
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Past Chair, Federal Salary Council
James L. Perry
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Chancellor’s Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs Emeritus
Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Indiana University, Bloomington
Krishna K. Tummala
Professor Emeritus
Kansas State University
William Earle Klay
Professor Emeritus
Askew School of Public Administration & Policy
The Florida State University
William L. Waugh
Professor Emeritus
Department of Public Management and Policy
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University
RaJade M. Berry-James
ASPA Life Member
Nancy Stutts
Associate Professor, Master of Public Administration Program & Director, Nonprofit Studies
Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs
Virginia Commonwealth University
B.J. Reed
Past President, Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration
Past Board Member, National Academy of Public Administration
Edward A. Kolodziej
Emeritus Research Professor of Political Science
University of Illinois, Urbana-Chamapaign
Behnaz Z. Quigley
Professor of Accounting
College of Business and Technology
Marymount University
Pamela Ransom
Associate Professor
School of Public Affairs and Administration
Metropolitan College
Dennis Coates
Professor of Economics
UMBC
Todd R. La Porte
Professor Emeritus of Political Science
and Professor of the Graduate School
University of California, Berkeley, California
Dennis M. Daley
Professor of Public Administration
North Carolina State University
Tom Barth
National Council, American Society for Public Administration
Professor and MPA Director
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Robert Roberts
Department of Political Science
James Madison University
Steven E. Aufrecht
Professor Emeritus
University of Alaska Anchorage
Claire Connolly Knox
Chair, ASPA’s Section for Emergency and Crisis Management
Associate Professor, School of Public Administration, University of Central Florida
Ralph S. Brower
Professor of Public Administration and Policy
Florida State University
E. Philip Morgan
Emeritus Professor
Graduate School of International Policy & Management
Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA
Gretchen Arnold
Associate Professor
St. Louis University
Brian J. Cook
Editor, Administration & Society
Professor Emeritus
Center for Public Administration & Policy
Virginia Tech
Cheryle A. Broom
Past President, American Society for Public Administration
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Jennifer Alexander
Associate Professor
Department of Public Administration
University of Texas at San Antonio
Orion F. White
Professor Emeritus
Virginia Tech University
Center for Public Administration and Policy
Cynthia J. McSwain
Professor Emerita
The George Washington University
School of Public Policy and Public Administration
Dale Krane
Professor Emeritus
School of Public Administration
University of Nebraska, Omaha
Sherman Wyman
Professor (retired)
School of Urban and Public Affairs
University of Arlington
Carolyn Ban
Past President, National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
Former Dean and Professor Emerita,
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
University of Pittsburgh
Stephen R. Rolandi
Adjunct Professor of Public Administration,
Pace University & John Jay College of Criminal Justice, C.U.N.Y.
Former Deputy Commissioner, State of New York
Division of Human Rights
David Coursey
Interim Chair, MPA Director
Department of Public Affairs and Planning
College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs
Univ of Texas – Arlington
Nadia Rubaii
Professor of Public Administration
Co-Director, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention
Binghamton University, State University of New York
Past President, Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration
Avrum J. Shriar
Associate Professor (Emeritus)
Distinguished Career Professor
Urban/Regional Studies and Planning
L.D. Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Virginia Commonwealth University
Janet R. Hutchinson
Professor Emerita
College of Humanities and Sciences
Former Director, Dept. of Public Administration
Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Virginia Commonwealth University
Sharon S. Dawes
Professor Emerita, Rockefeller College of Public Administration and Policy
University at Albany
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Rex L. Facer II
Associate Professor
Romney Institute of Public Service & Ethics
Brigham Young University
National Council Representative District V
American Society for Public Administration
Evan Mistur
Assistant Professor
Department of Public Affairs and Planning
The University of Texas at Arlington
Roseanne Mirabella
Past President, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action
Professor, Political Science and Public Affairs
Executive Director, Center for Community Research and Engagement
Seton Hall University
Laurie N. DiPadova-Stocks
Professor of Public Administration
Hauptmann School of Public Affairs
Park University
Beverly A. Cigler
Distinguished Professor Emerita of
Public Policy and Administration, Penn State
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Robert L. Bland
Endowed Professor of Local Government
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Honorary member, International City/County Management Association
University of North Texas
Marilu Goodyear
Associate Professor
School of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Kansas
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Christopher Horne
Professor of Public Administration
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
John Clayton Thomas
Michael and Enid Mescon Endowed Chair and Professor
Department of Public Management & Policy
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University
Genie Stowers
Professor of Public Administration
School of Public Affairs and Civic Engagement
San Francisco State University
Stuart C. Gilman
Senior Partner
Global Integrity Group
Ellen Schall
Dean Emerita
NYU Robert Wagner Graduate School of Public service
Jeffrey A. Raffel
Former President, Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration
Messick Chair Emeritus of Public Administration
University of Delaware
Goktug Morcol
Professor of Public Policy and Administration
School of Public Affairs
Penn State Harrisburg
Elizabeth S. Overman
Professor, Public Policy & Administration
University of Central Oklahoma
Richard Huff
Faculty, Public Policy & Administration
Virginia Commonwealth University
Terry Murphy
Professor of Public Administration
University of Miami
J. Paul Blake
District IV Representative, National Council, American Society for Public Administration
Former Director of Media and External Relations,
Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington
James Nordin
Adjunct Professor
Sonoma State University, Golden Gate University
Life Member, ASPA
Richard Callahan
Professor, University of San Francisco
Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Public Leadership
Fellow, U.S. Academy of Public Administration
Mary R. Hamilton
Senior Executive in Residence
University of Nebraska at Omaha School of Public Administration
David S. Birdsell
Marxe Dean, Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs
Baruch College, City University of New York
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Past-President, Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration
Justin Bullock
Assistant Professor
Public Service & Administration Department
The Bush School of Government & Public Service
Texas A&M University
Sean McCandless
Assistant Professor
University of Illinois Springfield
Anne Osborne Kilpatrick
Professor Emerita
Medical University of South Carolina
Leonard Axelrod
Professor of Public Administration
Dakota County Technical College
Ann Keller
PhD Health Policy Expert
Berkeley, California
Patria de Lancer Julnes
Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Professor
City University of New York
Charles Goodsell
Professor Emeritus of Public Administration
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia
Roger E. Kanet
Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Miami
Former Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Director of International Programs and Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Former Dean, Graduate School of International Studies, University of Miami
Gerald Pops
Professor Emeritus
Dept of Public Administration
West Virginia University
Paul Schulman
Professor, Political Science
Mills College, Oakland California
Angela M. Eikenberry
President, ARNOVA
Christine Reed
Professor Emeritus
School of Public Administration
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Robert S. Kravchuk
Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Professor of Public Affairs
O’Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs
Indiana University
Sandra O. Archibald
Dean Emerita and Professor Emerita
Evans School of Public Policy & Governance
University of Washington
G. David Garson
Professor of Public Administration
School of Public and International Affairs
North Carolina State University
Laurie N. DiPadova-Stocks
Professor of Public Administration
Former Dean, Hauptmann School of Public Affairs
Park University
Michael L. Hall
Immediate Past Director
MPA and MS in Leadership Program
Roger Williams University
Zhirong Zhao
Professor of Public Administration
Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Barton Wechsler
Dean Emeritus
Truman School of Public Affairs
University of Missouri
Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration
Renee A. Irvin
Associate Head, School of Planning, Public Policy & Management
University of Oregon
President, Nonprofit Academic Centers Council
Thomas Lynch
Past President, American Society for Public Administration
Cynthia Lynch
Professor of Public Administration (retired)