DOGE wants to control fired NIH employees
What does one do if they possess valuable skills and lose their job? Well, intelligent, ambitious and entrepreneurial Americans market their skills to other employers looking to hire talent. But the NIH Office of Defensive Counterintelligence and Personnel Security thinks the people they fired shouldn’t hire themselves out to the highest bidder in a free market:
““As the Federal Government undergoes workforce modifications,” the memo begins, “staff must remain vigilant against those who will seek to exploit this period of transition.” Apparently foreign governments are recruiting and there are also insider threat concerns. A bit later: “Employees and fellows must be cautious of unsolicited job offers and suspicious collaboration requests …”
“And why would that be? Well, we hear, continues the all-staff memo, that “some foreign government and talent programs are attempting to recruit current or former NIH employees who were either dismissed or accepted the early retirement option.”
Shorter ODCPS: we fired you, so stay fired.
DOGE warns fired NIH employees
Joel:
Once you are out the door, you are done. Unless there is some type of stipend or club to hold over a former employee’s head, what are they going to do legitimately? But you know too. Once the firing happens, you are free from being polite.
Hell, I have worked for the Germans and the Japanese. I was not going to lie down for them when they were being silly in their demands.
Kenji: “Bill, why you yell at me?” Bill: “Because what you are asking me to do is a waste of our time Kenji.”
Being older, I could get away with it.
@Bill,
I know this. The notion the DOGE controls the decisions of people it fires is risible.
Joel:
Just worth the reminder, you fired me and I am free to go where I wish to as long as I do not break the law in a new position. You have people working for the US Gov. who break the law by revealing things and violating their clearances. I am thinking here and may be outside the boundary of this post/commentary by you Joel. Some and companies also do believe they still control your thoughts, speech, and what you do.
Trump suing a law firm that represented Hillary.
Republican party telling their members not to hold Town Hall meetings so they are not on record (Politico). So now the Repubs control elected officials who want to talk to their constituents? Obviously not fired but also not beholden responsible to a Repub party or Trump and their dictates.
@Bill,
DOGE fires FBI. DOGE fires CIA. DOGE fires NIH. What do they expect will happen? All the people they fired will start picking fruits and vegetables in California? They are free to go where they wish to as long as they don’t break the law in a new position. It was stupid to fire these people without cause. Full stop. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.
I think I added a new twist to this.
Gee, have they just realized they have created a bit of a potential intelligence leak problem? Just one more of their “unintended consequences” excused off as a Musk Oops?
Funny, they have reduced the agencies that would be able to reduce the potential risk and maybe have made their approach to cost cutting look smart. Smart as in “I’m like a smart person” quote smart.
As the song goes: Oh well.
The Chinese aerospace, and nuclear programs were founded by Qian Xuesen after the US government took away his security clearance at JPL. He brought systems theory to Chinese government and industry and is still considered something of a hero like, perhaps, Thomas Edison. We can do it again.
Daniel:
The Repubs, Musk, and Trump kind of burned it at both ends. Want more loyalty after they let them go abruptly. Yeah, they are confined by confidentiality agreements. Let the Gov try to prove it was the fired employee who violated the agreement by babbling. Repubs have years of angry constituents who they misused to content within the future.