Donald Trump goes to war with his employees

The US leader wants to shrink and remake the civil service.

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To get a sense of what US President Donald Trump's first week did to the federal government, talk to people who work in it.

"I've been with the government for over 10 years, I lived through the first Trump administration, and nothing compares to this," says one Treasury employee.

Some workers are busy scrubbing their personal social media for items that could be interpreted as disloyal. Others are scrubbing up their resumes, anticipating that they will soon be looking for new work. Those who plan to stay expect their jobs to get worse, as colleagues flee or are not replaced.

Everyone is "in absolute panic mode," says another senior civil servant.

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Trump promised that he would "shatter the deep state."

Since taking office, it has become more clear what he meant. In a barrage of executive orders, Mr. Trump has asserted that he can do just about whatever he likes to the federal government. He has, he claims, "sole and exclusive authority" over the executive branch, to include hiring, firing and all spending decisions.

In effect, Mr. Trump is claiming he is not merely a president, putting into action laws enacted by the legislature. He is claiming to be something closer to a king, able to withhold or redirect expenditure as he sees fit.

On Jan 27, Mr. Trump revealed quite how far he intends to push.

He decreed that all grants and loans that the federal government makes - excepting disbursements for Social Security, Medicare, and some other vaguely defined categories - would be suspended the following day, even though Congress had approved them.

This apparent usurpation of Congress' role under Article I of the Constitution was "sweeping and vast" and "really, really illegal," says Professor Eloise Pasachoff of Georgetown University law school.