Trump order risks "politicization" of administrative, mostly Social Security, judiciary

[mahatmakanejeeves]

David Fahrenthold Retweeted:

Administrative Law Judges now will be chosen by agency heads who could pick lawyers who do not need the experience previously required. No more central vetting Office of Personnel Management. https://wapo.st/2JlbfO3 #federalinsider #ALJ

Link to tweet

PowerPost Perspective

Trump order risks ‘politicization’ of administrative, mostly Social Security, judiciary

By Joe Davidson July 13 at 7:00 AM [link:[e-mail]|Email the author]

President Trump’s latest action upsetting the established order of the federal workforce has spawned a bevy of accusations that his move could politicize the administrative judiciary.

A Trump executive order says administrative law judges, who primarily work for the Social Security Administration, will no longer be hired by the competitive civil service process that is a mainstay of an impartial bureaucracy. Instead, they will be selected by agency heads who could pick lawyers who do not need the experience previously required. The judges, known as ALJs, conduct courtlike proceedings on disputes between federal agencies and clients, such as Social Security recipients who think they are entitled to greater benefits.

Although ALJs are a small fraction of the federal workforce, about 2,000 of 2 million employees, their impact is great for taxpayers fighting Uncle Sam. Approximately 1,600 judges at Social Security oversaw almost 700,000 cases last year. The Supreme Court once called Social Security “probably the largest adjudicative agency in the Western world.”

The White House made the change Tuesday, citing a June Supreme Court decision that said a Securities and Exchange Commission judge lacked authority after not being properly appointed.
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Columnist Joe Davidson covers federal government issues in the Federal Insider, formerly the Federal Diary. Davidson previously was an assistant city editor at The Washington Post and a Washington and foreign correspondent with the Wall Street Journal, where he covered federal agencies and political campaigns. Follow https://twitter.com/JoeDavidsonWP

More about that June Supreme Court decision:

Supreme Court overturns process that had been used to appoint SEC administrative law judges

[Sophia4]

1. It's a return to pre-Theodore-Roosevelt-Tammany-Hall days.

Congress needs to enact laws on this issue to insure the objectivity and expertise of our administrative judges.

This is the worst thing yet in my personal view.

[TheMastersNemesis]

2. Trump Wants The Same Kind Of Political Appointees As In Cabinet.

He wants the same kind of appointees he has in cabinet to just deny millions of claims valid or not. Such appointees would also infect the VA qualification process. To save money just do not approve many claims.