Josh Paul’s Post

A new resignation: Today we learn of the resignation of Alex Smith from USAID, where he was a senior advisor on Gender-Based Violence. Like much of the U.S. Government, USAID relies on contracted expertise for many of their functions. Alex was employed there for the past several years by Highbury Defense Group, an Accelint company. As The Guardian reports, he prepared a presentation for USAID on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians. First, AID's Middle East office reached in to force edits to his presentation, including removing a slide on international law and barring use of the word "Palestine"; shortly thereafter, USAID canceled his briefing entirely. His company reached out two days later to give Alex the options of resigning or being fired.  Contractors form a vital part of government teams; in my own previous office I relied on several truly exceptional contract workers, and across government it's the case that we wouldn't be able to function without their support. Yet, contractors lack the employment protections that federal employees have, and can be fired without notice for any reason.  Alex's case is the most blatant effort I'm yet aware of to remove someone from an agency role because of their work on this, and highlights the value of civil service protections in protecting what modicum of debate exists within government on U.S. policy towards Israel. Without such protections, I would not have been able to have raised the concerns I had been raising for many years on this issue, and many more employees would have been fired for having done so in the past seven months. But those protections are under threat from plans such as the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, which would strip protections from federal employees. Regardless of where you stand politically, if you want a government that can stand against the worst whims and inclinations of a President, Alex's case is an example of what will happen should such changes be implemented. Alex's resignation also highlights the corporate kowtowing to political pressure that leads companies to censor and punish intellectually honest commentary rather than risk corporate profits. If USAID initiated Highbury's actions to remove Alex, after years of positive performance reports, on the basis of his presentation, and if Highbury moved to remove him on the basis of his professional analysis, it is an outrage against the mission of the former, and a stain on the reputation of the latter. Contractors working alongside government employees don't have the same protections, and are restricted from performing certain functions, but they are still very much part of the government family, and the family that is any well-functioning office, and I am proud to welcome Alex, now, into a new family - the family of U.S. Government officials who have resigned.

A new resignation: Today we learn of the resignation of Alex Smith from USAID, where he was a senior advisor on Gender-Based Violence. Like much of the U.S. Government, USAID relies on contracted expertise for many of their functions. Alex was employed there for the past several years by Highbury Defense Group, an Accelint company. As The Guardian reports, he prepared a presentation for USAID on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians. First, AID's Middle East office reached in to force edits to his presentation, including removing a slide on international law and barring use of the word "Palestine"; shortly thereafter, USAID canceled his briefing entirely. His company reached out two days later to give Alex the options of resigning or being fired.  Contractors form a vital part of government teams; in my own previous office I relied on several truly exceptional contract workers, and across government it's the case that we wouldn't be able to function without their support. Yet, contractors lack the employment protections that federal employees have, and can be fired without notice for any reason.  Alex's case is the most blatant effort I'm yet aware of to remove someone from an agency role because of their work on this, and highlights the value of civil service protections in protecting what modicum of debate exists within government on U.S. policy towards Israel. Without such protections, I would not have been able to have raised the concerns I had been raising for many years on this issue, and many more employees would have been fired for having done so in the past seven months. But those protections are under threat from plans such as the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, which would strip protections from federal employees. Regardless of where you stand politically, if you want a government that can stand against the worst whims and inclinations of a President, Alex's case is an example of what will happen should such changes be implemented. Alex's resignation also highlights the corporate kowtowing to political pressure that leads companies to censor and punish intellectually honest commentary rather than risk corporate profits. If USAID initiated Highbury's actions to remove Alex, after years of positive performance reports, on the basis of his presentation, and if Highbury moved to remove him on the basis of his professional analysis, it is an outrage against the mission of the former, and a stain on the reputation of the latter. Contractors working alongside government employees don't have the same protections, and are restricted from performing certain functions, but they are still very much part of the government family, and the family that is any well-functioning office, and I am proud to welcome Alex, now, into a new family - the family of U.S. Government officials who have resigned.

A new resignation: Today we learn of the resignation of Alex Smith from USAID, where he was a senior advisor on Gender-Based Violence. Like much of the U.S. Government, USAID relies on contracted expertise for many of their functions. Alex was employed there for the past several years by Highbury Defense Group, an Accelint company. As The Guardian reports, he prepared a presentation for USAID on maternal and child mortality among Palestinians. First, AID's Middle East office reached in to force edits to his presentation, including removing a slide on international law and barring use of the word "Palestine"; shortly thereafter, USAID canceled his briefing entirely. His company reached out two days later to give Alex the options of resigning or being fired.  Contractors form a vital part of government teams; in my own previous office I relied on several truly exceptional contract workers, and across government it's the case that we wouldn't be able to function without their support. Yet, contractors lack the employment protections that federal employees have, and can be fired without notice for any reason.  Alex's case is the most blatant effort I'm yet aware of to remove someone from an agency role because of their work on this, and highlights the value of civil service protections in protecting what modicum of debate exists within government on U.S. policy towards Israel. Without such protections, I would not have been able to have raised the concerns I had been raising for many years on this issue, and many more employees would have been fired for having done so in the past seven months. But those protections are under threat from plans such as the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, which would strip protections from federal employees. Regardless of where you stand politically, if you want a government that can stand against the worst whims and inclinations of a President, Alex's case is an example of what will happen should such changes be implemented. Alex's resignation also highlights the corporate kowtowing to political pressure that leads companies to censor and punish intellectually honest commentary rather than risk corporate profits. If USAID initiated Highbury's actions to remove Alex, after years of positive performance reports, on the basis of his presentation, and if Highbury moved to remove him on the basis of his professional analysis, it is an outrage against the mission of the former, and a stain on the reputation of the latter. Contractors working alongside government employees don't have the same protections, and are restricted from performing certain functions, but they are still very much part of the government family, and the family that is any well-functioning office, and I am proud to welcome Alex, now, into a new family - the family of U.S. Government officials who have resigned.