Former Cabinet secretaries urge federal employees to 'keep the faith' despite threats to civil service

Two former Cabinet secretaries recently honored by the National Academy of Public Administration for their lifetime of public service said career civil servants are the backbone of effective government and warned that their loss and demoralization threaten agencies’ ability to function.

Janet Yellen, who was a senior leader in the Federal Reserve System during the 2008 financial crisis and Treasury secretary during the COVID-19 pandemic, said at the Jan. 28 award ceremony that federal employees kept her grounded. 

“One of the things I found most satisfying and most gratifying about public service is the people who are part of organizations like the Fed, like the Treasury and the Council of Economic Advisers. These are very dedicated, mission-oriented, capable, passionate people who know in these trying times ‘This is what I'm in it for. I have the training to be able to help. I can't fix everything, but we're going to hold hands, and we're going to do the best we possibly can,’” she said. “It is also a very bonding experience. I think it brings out the best in people.” 

Gary Locke — who served as a Cabinet secretary and state governor — likewise advised a future president to rebuild the federal workforce. For Locke, his experience across federal and state government reinforced a central lesson: political leaders set priorities, but career employees deliver results.

“So much of the work in the federal government, virtually all of the work in the federal government, is done by career people. They've been demoralized. They've been decimated,” he said. “How do you put Humpty Dumpty back together again? It really means building back the competence and the dedication of the career people.”

The public service prize, which NAPA gives out every two years, is named after Elliot Richardson, who resigned as attorney general during the “Saturday Night Massacre" rather than follow an order from Richard Nixon to fire the special counsel investigating the Watergate scandal. 

“Basically, you had Richardson resign to refuse to remove someone for an improper reason and to essentially ensure that there wouldn't be the sense that an attorney general was operating either out of fear or favor,” said NAPA President and CEO James-Christian Blockwood in an interview with Government Executive. “That is an incredibly important principle that is very relevant and very real for today.”

Blockwood argued that Richardson’s resignation is an example for civil servants who may face ethical dilemmas. 

“I think how you make those principled decisions is important. Richardson didn't protest in certain ways. He chose to exercise it through resignation and through making his point about his values and his role,” Blockwood said. “So it is both about standing up for principles and how you stand up for principles during those really difficult times.”

The two awardees — Yellen and Locke — both served in several roles throughout government.  

Yellen was the first female Treasury secretary, Federal Reserve chair and head of the Council of Economic Advisers — and is the only individual to have held all three roles. Locke is a former ambassador to China, Commerce secretary and governor of Washington, becoming the first Chinese-American to be elected governor.  

“I think there are many public servants that have long, tenured careers and have had many accomplishments, but to see an individual that holds so many consequential roles that have a true impact on an everyday citizen — that I think really distinguishes both of them,” Blockwood said. “It also mirrors what Elliot Richardson did in his time.” 

Along with being attorney general, Richardson also led the Health, Education and Welfare, Defense and Commerce departments. Previous recipients of his namesake prize include Colin Powell, Sandra Day O’Connor and Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

In an interview with Government Executive, Locke recalled that at his urging the Commerce Department workforce during the Great Recession reduced the time it took to approve economic development grants from nearly 20 months to 18 days.

“I very much believe in streamlining government, making government more efficient,” he said. “That frees up people to tackle other things that are high on the agency's agenda.”

The Trump administration has pushed out hundreds of thousands of employees from the civil service, contending that doing so would bolster agency efficiency. 

Locke argued that Commerce employees, whose work ranges from promoting trade to monitoring the weather to counting the population, are “absolutely critical to the long-term success and prosperity of America.”

“I would say to those employees, despite the tough political climate that we're in, your work is invaluable and keep the faith,” he said. “Do your work as conscientiously as ever before. We appreciate your dedication. And the American people need your work. The American people need you.”