a18 EZ RE the washington post.monday, july 27 , 2020
lETTErs TO ThE EdiTOr[email protected]lOcal OPiNiONsT
HERE IS now even less doubt that what
appeared to be one of the Trump administra-
tion’s most brazen recent acts of political
retaliation w as just what it seemed.
The New Yo rk Times reported the government
admitted in court papers filed Thursday that Home-
land Security officials had made false statements
about their February decision to cut off New Yorkers
from the trusted traveler program, which allows
prescreened Americans expedited passage through
border checks when r eentering the United States from
abroad.
T he Trump administration had justified the cutoff
by pointing to New York’s new policy of refusing to
disclose driver’s license information to federal immi-
gration authorities absent a court o rder. T he adminis-
tration claimed that the state’s policy was unusual and
that federal officials therefore could not t rust the state
to cooperate in the background checks needed to
screen New Yorkers for the trusted traveler program.
In fact, government lawyers admitted Thursday, sev-eral other states and D.C. have similar policies, which
are designed to shield undocumented immigrants
who obtained driver’s licenses rather than encourag-
ing them to drive illegally. But those states’ residents
were not denied access to the trusted traveler pro-
gram, showing that national security was not the
underlying issue.
The Department of Homeland Security moved on
Thursday to reinstate New Yorkers’ participation in
the program. The effects of the cutoff were less
profound than they could have been, given the shut-
down of international travel because of the covid- 19
pandemic, though federal officials had reason to
expect that their punishment would be more painful
when they imposed it back in February. Department
officials indicated the reason they reversed course
now was that the state had also changed policy since
February, a llowing f ederal agents access to the d river’s
license information of those applying for trusted
traveler status. Ye t state policy shifted back in April,
and it is only with Thursday’s revelations about thegovernment’s lack of truthfulness that federal officials
are finally backpedaling.
The most plausible explanation has always been
that President Trump and the immigration hard- -
liners who staff his administration wanted to punish
New York, both for adopting a “sanctuary” s tate policy
after the Trump administration went on a campaign
against such policies, and because of the state’s legal
action against the president himself. Mr. Trump de-
clared the state must end “unnecessary lawsuits and
harassment” when he met with New York Gov. An-
drew M. Cuomo (D) to sort out a compromise on the
trusted traveler issue. Now federal officials have ad-
mitted the pretext they concocted to justify their
actions was n ot just unlikely, but patently untrue.
Once again, the Trump administration appears to
have been caught abusing its p owers to further politi-
cal or personal grudges. It is scary to imagine how
much more of the same would occur if the president
got another four years with his hands on the levers of
government.Another brazen act of political retaliation
Trump administration officials admit their pretext for punishing New York travelers was untrue.
bling anecdotes about non-confirmed appointees we
are aware of, and there’s p articular reason for concern.
The man responsible for overseeing the child sepa-
ration policy at the border, for instance, had never
spent any time resettling refugees b efore he was put in
charge of refugee resettlement. He was, however, an
antiabortion advocate, which perhaps explains why he
sparked scandal by trying to stop detained minors
from getting abortions. Currently, the White House is
urging the hiring to a key Pentagon position of Rich
Higgins, a conspiracy theorist fired from the NationalSecurity Council after propounding the theory that a
“deep state” composed of the media, Black Lives Mat-
ter, Islamists, the United Nations and more was work-
ing together to undermine the president. The myth has
stuck.
Americans learn of these people poised to have
significant influence over the country’s course only by
a mixture of chance and circumstance. We ought to be
aware of them by rule, the better to ensure that no
essential function of government goes to the dogs — or
the Labradoodles.E
ARLY ON in the coronavirus pandemic, Health
and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar as-
signed a top aide to run the day-to-day U.S. re-
sponse. The aide’s o ccupation before his ascen-
sion to his prominent post? Labradoodle breeder.
That is only one of the absurd and alarming exam-
ples of unqualified or otherwise dangerous political
appointees carrying out critical duties in the Trump
administration — and the worst part is, the public isn’t
even aware of many of them. The United States govern-
ment employs some 4,000 political appointees, more
than any other industrialized democracy. Approxi-
mately 1,200 must be confirmed by the Senate, yet
thousands remain who can be installed in their posi-
tions in the shadows. The only widely available cata-
logue of who they are and what they do comes in the
Office of Personnel Management’s “Plum Book.” This
encyclopedia is released only every four years, render-
ing it almost irrelevant for a one-term administration.
Congress’s Periodically Listing Updates to Manage-
ment, or PLUM, Act, approved by a Senate committee
last week, aims to replace the “Plum Book” with
something more relevant: a directory updated every
two years instead of every four, and that exists on a
website rather than in printed form or a clunky PDF.
This is a step forward, though not a step far enough.
Better would be data added in real time on who’s i n and
who’s out, so the public, press and lawmakers can
scrutinize power players for experience and conflicts
of interest. The matter is of particular concern as an
election approaches and presents the possibility of an
outgoing administration slipping its political appoin-
tees into career roles so that they can stick around
unnoticed, a trick known as “burrowing.”
Generally, OPM has done a decent job guarding
against burrowing, but the agency’s inspector general
announced recently that officials there are slow-
r olling his investigation into whether the administra-
tion is already sneaking political appointees into what
are traditionally career roles. Pair this with the trou-Gone
to the dogs
Unqualified political appointees —
including a Labradoodle breeder —
are carrying out critical duties.ABCDE
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The Washington Post
1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 (202) 334-Regarding the July 19 Metro article “Schools scal-
ing back plans for in-person learning”:
As a parent and an infectious-disease doctor in
D.C., I believe the best course is to resume distance
learning at the start of this school year. Our city has
done a commendable job of battling the novel c orona-
virus, but we are not ready for in-person learning in
five weeks.
I make this recommendation with anguish know-
ing that students, perhaps especially the most disad-
vantaged, will suffer. D istance l earning simply cannot
replace participation in the classroom, though we
must find ways to replace meals and other services
schools provide. But under current conditions, the
question is whether the harm of suboptimal school-
ing (perhaps for just a few more months) is less than
the h arm o f more of our city’s children losing a p arent
or grandparent. While the coronavirus remains in
charge, I b elieve we must m ake a c hoice that will save
lives. Delaying the restart of in-person learning al-
lows more time for v irus cases t o be c ontrolled and for
D.C. Public Schools to prepare to open schools with all
necessary p recautions in p lace.
I encourage D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and
D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee to put
the health and safety of D.C.’s children, teachers and
families first, and announce that DCPS will continue
distance learning at t he start of the school y ear.
Rachel Harold, WashingtonThe leaders of the public schools in the region
have, by adopting virtual-only teaching, abandoned
essential workers. Those men and women have to go
to work. Many o f them d epend o n their children being
in school during work hours. Now they will have to
cobble together some way to care for their kids in a
setting that allows them to go online and learn, or
they will have to face p overty b y staying home.
We k now what will happen. Many c hildren will end
up with day-care providers operating out of their
homes or with relatives caring for an extended fam-
ily’s kids. So, the kids will be with adults in the same
way that they would be if i n school and with the s ame
risk of the n ovel c oronavirus ( for k ids a nd a dults). B ut
the d ay-care provider won’t have the tools available to
a school s ystem f or monitoring potential c oronavirus
cases, maintaining social distance and otherwise
coping with t he pandemic.
If the educators aren’t going to make use of the
classrooms, they should make them available to
organizations that will use them to provide day care
and an online learning environment for the kids of
essential workers and help for kids with special
needs.
Robert Beury, Oak HillThe stakes for schools and students
Though I appreciate Kathleen Parker’s reminder
in her July 22 op-ed, “Here’s why Trump can still
win,” that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary
Clinton was 12 points ahead of then-Republican
presidential nominee Donald Trump in 2016 — and
our need to cautiously evaluate these numbers and
their uncertainty — I would remind her that those
June-July numbers took quite a tumble with the
revelations made by then-FBI Director James
B. Comey in early July. His later comments, days
before the election, should also be remembered as
having an effect on the election.
Yes, we should take polling numbers for what they
are — random surveys with a margin of error — and
make sure we do our part as voters. But let’s also
remember that this time, one of those in contention
now has a three-and-a-half-year record for the
electorate to review.
Malcolm Wilson, WheatonVoters must do their part
Regarding the July 22 National Digest item “Ap-
peals court allows voter ID law to stay”:
The Supreme Court must act to overturn an
appeals court decision that upheld the 2018 dismiss-
al of the NAACP lawsuit that Alabama’s voter-
i dentification law is unconstitutionally discrimina-
tory.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has severely lim-
ited state governments’ abilities to issue driver’s
licenses a nd state ID cards. But, even in normal times,
the documents required to get a state ID are difficult
to provide, especially for the elderly and poor.
In Alabama, to get a state ID, one needs to show a
Social Security card, a birth certificate and a govern-
ment identification with a photograph — a driver’s
license, a state ID card or a passport. It’s a C atch- 22 to
require a state-issued ID to get a state-issued ID.
So the plain English of the Alabama v oter-ID law
is that if you don’t already have a state-issued ID to
register to vote, you have to have a passport. That is
onerous.
It’s hard to imagine how the NAACP failed to win
the case against Alabama, but the Supreme Court
needs to overturn the decision in time for Alabama
voters to register to vote.
Dan Thompson, WheatonCrying out for a Supreme Court ruling
Regarding Esther Choo’s July 22 Wednesday
Opinion essay, “Doctors are being pushed to the
brink. They need help.”:
Tragically, Lorna Breen’s suicide is not unique.
About 400 U.S. doctors die by suicide yearly, equiva-
lent to the graduates of two medical schools annual-
ly. Although Dr. Breen’s treatment was not effective,
interventions often work.
The perceived stigma of behavioral illnesses
(depression, addiction and others) often prevents
doctors from seeking help. Physician health pro-
grams exist in 47 states. Their sole purpose is
to intervene and refer doctors for treatment and to
monitor their health. They often are associated with
the state medical association. Physician health
programs frequently refer the affected doctors for
evaluation and treatment to consultants outside the
circle of doctors known to the patient-doctor. Pa-
tient safety is protected as the “sick” doctor does not
practice until recovered.
Health-care workers are subject to incredible
stress and deserve prompt professional care.
Their lives and our lives depend on it.
Herbert Rakatansky, Providence, R.I.
The writer is chair of the Rhode Island Medical
Society Physician Health Committee.Mental health and doctors
T
HE WHITE HOUSE has made it unmistak-
ably clear that it wants schools to open this
year with full in-person instruction, and that
nothing — least of all the science — should
stand in t he w ay. But t he a ctual d ecisions o n whether
to allow children back into the classroom are thank-
fully being made not by a president hellbent on
making a political point, but by school officials who
are listening to public health experts and consulting
with members of their communities. Many of them
are coming to the reluctant conclusion that the
failure t o contain t he n ovel coronavirus — s omething
that actually is the responsibility of President
Trump’s administration — makes it unwise to return
children to the classroom.
As back-to-school season approaches, an increas-
ing number of s chool districts h ave abandoned plans
for in-person classes or hybrid arrangements and,
instead, are opting for an all-virtual start to the fall
semester. Some districts have committed to distance
learning only for t he first few weeks of t he school year,
holding o ut the p ossibility — and hope — of in-person
instruction, but many others plan for students tolearn remotely through the rest of 2020. Montgom-
ery, Fairfax and Loudoun counties most recently
decided to switch to all distance learning, joining
districts in M aryland a nd V irginia that include Prince
George’s County, Arlington and Prince William.
D.C. has y et t o announce its p lans.
School officials describe a wrenching process in
deciding to keep classrooms closed. There were
strong f eelings on b oth sides o f the debate a nd n o one,
even those who favored remote learning as the safest
approach at this point, could argue that virtual
learning is any kind of a satisfactory replacement for
in-person learning. Children — particularly those
from at-risk populations — suffer academically, and
there are social and health benefits when children
interact with their teachers and each other, not to
mention the hardships to working families when
children are forced to stay at home. That the crash
rollout of online learning in March as the pandemic
hit p roved disastrous o nly added to the dilemma.
But, as Fairfax County Schools Superintendent
Scott Braband said in explaining why remote learn-
ing was the best option, “The numbers do not lie.”There has been a surge of covid- 19 across the country
and many communities are having to deal with
higher r ates of infection than were present at t he start
of the outbreak. If Mr. Trump wanted to take con-
structive a ction to get children back in the c lassroom,
he would put i n place t he testing and o ther safeguards
needed to control the v irus rather than just browbeat-
ing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
into becoming a cheerleader for his political agenda
or trotting out his education secretary with absurd
theories of how c hildren a ctually block t he virus.
Children may be less a t risk of contracting t he v irus
but the science is not at all clear and there are many
uncertainties; the concern about transmission to
teachers and other school staff is quite real. We urge
schools to continue to explore safe ways for children
to return to school as soon as possible. In the mean-
time, it is important they significantly improve re-
mote learning. There is not much time before the
start of school; districts must focus on getting teach-
ers prepared, improving lesson plans and equipping
students with the tools they need t o learn o utside the
classroom.Education’s fourth ‘R’
As the new school year nears, districts should be focusing on how best to deliver remote learning.
ABCDE
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
EdiTOrialsTOm TOlEsRegarding the July 21 Metro article “Civil rights
leaders plan August rally on the steps of Lincoln
Memorial”:
No! Bringing the coronavirus from all over the
United States to D.C. on Aug. 28 would endanger
lives — especially lives of vulnerable people of color
here. We have worked hard to reduce the impact of
the coronavirus in D.C. We are trying to find safe
ways for D.C. schoolchildren to engage safely and
succeed with a new school year. We a bsolutely do not
need the spike in suffering and death that would
accompany this demonstration.
There are many safer ways to accomplish the
goals of this march, “the pause, a stopping point, a
symbolic gesture of what tomorrow could bring,” in
the words of Derrick Johnson, president and chief
executive of the NAACP. Instead of having 1,000 bus-
es in D.C., how about organizing simultaneous, safergatherings in 10,000 cities across the country? I
understand people wanting to raise voices in the
nation’s capital. But who honestly thinks anyone in
power here is listening?
“Get Your Knee Off Our Necks” is a righteous
cause. But asking large numbers of people to gather
in D.C. on Aug. 28 is just as selfish and reckless as
what President Trump has been doing with his
rallies. It is not good for participants, it is not good
for D.C., and it will do a disservice to the cause.
Carol Lukaczer, WashingtonA good cause but a bad idea
Bringing the coronavirus from allover the United States to D.C. on Aug.
28 would endanger lives
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