During the presidential campaign, Democrats argued that the so-called “Deep State,” the term many Republicans have given to overreaching federal bureaucrats, was a myth. But some of the protective efforts being made to forestall the incoming Donald Trump administration suggest otherwise.

The latest eyebrow-raiser, as reported by Bloomberg, is the deal made with the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing some 42,000 Social Security Administration workers, that was signed by an exiting Biden administration commissioner, Martin O’Malley. Simply put, the bargain enshrined the ability to work some or all days at home, as per the workers’ current deals, through 2029.

Whatever you may think of the new Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy effort to stem government waste, to be known as the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, here’s an early window into how difficult their task is likely to be, given the forces favoring the status quo. Musk and Ramaswamy have said they plan to force more federal employees back into the office and let any attrition save the taxpayers money.

It’s also revealing when it comes to one of the biggest problems with public-sector unions: the lack of motivation on the part of managers on the other side of the table to do anything but accede to their demands. We are, of course, seeing this play out in Chicago when it comes to Mayor Brandon Johnson, so far unwilling to buck or even push back on any of the absurd wants of the Chicago Teachers Union.

We’re not against working from home, per se. Many jobs can be done from a computer in the kitchen, and we support employer flexibility, not least as a way to both reduce costs and retain talented employees. But jobs beholden to the public purse merit more scrutiny and are more ripe for abuse. And we think even Democrats should see the fundamental unfairness of hobbling a new, democratically elected administration in this way, for its entire duration. Imagine if the shoe were on the other foot; Democrats would be howling.

No doubt other unions are pushing for the same treatment.

Representing the desires of their workers is a union’s job. Fine. But it’s also the job of commissioners and the like to represent taxpayers’ interests and the will of the American people. They just elected a president who campaigned on reining in excessive government spending. To bake in every cost for reasons as flimsy as in this particular case represents a kind of advance sabotage.

Surely those who take over the Social Security Administration deserve a modicum of flexibility. A chance to improve things that, yes, might include asking some folks to come into the office more. Or not. This is like an outgoing CEO preventing a successor from making any changes. For their entire tenure.

Outgoing Biden officials should not sign long-term deals deliberately targeting a new administration that has yet to have the chance to do anything. That’s unethical and, frankly, undemocratic from a party that claims to be the great defender of democracy.

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