Nothing said at the debate matters more than this: If Trump politicizes the civil service, American government is finished. Someone's unqualified second cousin will be making important decisions about water quality or food safety instead of a scientist. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-order-federal-civil-service/2020/10/22/c73783f0-1481-11eb-bc10-40b25382f1be_story.html?tid=ss_tw

this is the first thing - the very first thing - that authoritarian leaders do when they take power: Replace all the competent people with lackeys. Trump didn't know enough about government to do it in his first term, but he will do it if he wins a second one.

The politicization of the CDC has already begun. Inspectors-general and watchdogs are being removed. Trump's team of political appointees us already stuffed with incompetents and people with conflicts of interest. This is one more step in the wrong direction.

I wrote this on the same subject in 2018 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/the-trump-white-house-is-destroying-our-civil-service/2018/08/03/1aad229e-969c-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html?outputType=amp