Back in 1883, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act provided for the selection of some government employees by competitive Civil Service exams rather than ties to politicians and made it illegal to fire or demote some government officials for political reasons.

A future law in 1978 reaffirmed this system.

Candidate and ex-president Donald Trump has once again pledged to institute a policy of eliminating thousands of government civil service jobs and replacing them with individuals who are beholders to him and ones who will do his bidding.

By doing this, anyone who challenges the president can be fired without recourse.

Eliminating Civil Service positions will be the first step in establishing Trump as a dictator that he has claimed to be. He will be free to go after his political enemies and punish them.

Gone will be the opportunity for honest caring government employees to challenge him and his illegal and undemocratic policies.

The Civil Service system was designed for a reason — to stop authoritarian dishonest Presidents and politicians from harming our democratic way of life.

Don’t give Trump a chance to become the dictator he has pledged to be.

William J. Padamonsky Sr.

Duncansville