Less than two weeks before Election Day, President Trump issued an executive order which will strip job protections from civil service employees that prevent them from being fired at will, undermining the procedures supporting a merit-based civil service. Scott Anderson delves into the complex legal background and history of these civil service protections and—depending on the outcome of the election—whether a lame-duck Trump administration would be still able to implement such sweeping changes before an incoming Biden administration. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/35QRsmU  Subscribe to Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.