Massive personnel shortage threatens new Trump plan: analysis

After a lengthy delay, President Donald Trump released a national cybersecurity strategy on Friday afternoon — and, as one critic observed, it seems at odds with the reality of America “hemorrhaging cyber-talent.”

Trump’s strategy is "impressively underachieving, even by the abysmal standards this Administration has set for itself,” said Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) He then pointed out that the plan does not account for the most glaring issue facing the Trump administration.

Thompson added, “Completely lacking is even the most basic blueprint for how the Administration will go about achieving any of its cybersecurity goals — an objective possibly hamstrung by the hemorrhage in cyber talent across all Federal agencies since Trump took office.”

By contrast, Trump claimed his strategy “calls for unprecedented coordination across government and the private sector to invest in the best technologies and continue world-class innovation, and to make the most of America’s cyber capabilities for both offensive and defensive missions.”

The federal workforce is experiencing a massive personnel shortage under the Trump era, both due to the president’s sweeping layoffs and because he has reportedly made it less comfortable to work for the government. Agencies like the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), the National Weather Service (NWS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are all bleeding quality staffers.

"Another abrupt departure of a high-ranking Food and Drug Administration official is raising alarm about a brain drain that could mean new drugs take longer to reach the public," reported Axios' Pete Sullivan in December. "Why it matters: Biotech and pharmaceutical companies rely on the FDA for dependable guidance as they spend huge sums developing new treatments. The American public needs the agency to ensure treatments are safe and effective…. Driving the news: The latest uproar surrounds the unexpected departure of Richard Pazdur, a respected oncologist who just three weeks ago became the fourth person to direct the FDA's drug center this year."

He added, "Pazdur's appointment had helped calm nerves to some degree within industry after months of turmoil. But now, executives and even former FDA commissioners are publicly questioning the agency's direction."

Trump’s policies are also causing brain drains from red states to blue states. Last year Common Dreams reported widespread dissatisfaction from individuals over restrictive abortion laws. Among 10,000 adults surveyed by Morning Consult, 1 in 5 of respondents who are planning on having children in the next decade either moved from an anti-abortion state to a pro-choice one or know someone who has. Notably, 14 percent of people with advanced degrees have either moved out-of-state or know someone who has over anti-abortion laws.

"Workers are not willing to trade their health and autonomy for a paycheck," Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), told Common Dreams at the time.

Trump is even pushing personnel out of his own party, albeit indirectly and perhaps unintentionally. Of the 62 lawmakers who have so far announced they will not seek reelection, 37 are Republicans.

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