He’d just fire my ass.
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That is how it should be, so it makes me wonder. Just how restricted is Barr from firing people? Is the bar set high? Does he have to build a case over time proving a pattern of insubordination or incompetence? Why should it be harder to fire a government employee than a private sector one? I know that one may say that there are “laws in place” to make it that way, but are “conservatives” in government protected by such laws? Would Obama be hamstrung by the inability to purge those who didn’t tow line?
He is a scum-sucking NeverTrump Beltway Republican, but talk show host Hugh Hewitt is also a lawyer. He served as lead counsel to the Office of Personnel Management in the Reagan administration. He talked about that experience at length on his show once, and left you with the distinct impression that it is indeed pretty much impossible to fire a Federal employee.
The fact is that Trump and Barr have the authority to fire every US Attorney in the federal government if they want to, but they have to take into account political considerations too, since they may need Congress to approve replacements.
The best way around this is to just fire everyone you want to fire on day one of the administration, because then it’s understood to be part of the transition and even if Congress gets upset, they generally let it slide. Trump missed the boat on that back in 2016, probably because he was listening to some GOPe advisors who told him not to rock the boat. He’ll have another opportunity in a few months; if he misses that, he has nobody to blame but himself.
It’s nearly impossible for political appointees to dismiss civil service employees. That’s why so many members of Democrat administrations roll over into the federal bureaucracy right before a Republican gets sworn into office.
All the better to continue the resistance.