“Unprecedented” is a much-overworked word in recent descriptions of U.S. politics, but it is difficult to avoid in reflecting on the past 4 years in public administration. Federal civil servants whose work contradicted Trump administration ideology were sidelined, the administration introduced a new employment category that would seriously weaken civil service protections, and government at all levels now functions in an environment of widespread public belief in conspiracy theories and nonfactual disinformation. The article describes changes in the political context of the work of public professionals and examines effects on the important role characteristic of administrative neutrality.

在对美国政治的最新描述中，“史无前例”是一个过度劳累的词，但是在回顾过去四年的公共行政管理时，很难避免。联邦公务员的工作与特朗普政府的意识形态背道而驰，政府引入了新的就业类别，这将严重削弱公务员保护，各级政府现在都在公众普遍相信阴谋论和虚假事实的环境下运作。本文介绍了公共专业人员工作的政治环境的变化，并考察了对行政中立的重要角色特征的影响。