In a startling cheap shot at its predecessor, the Biden administration has denied already-approved paid faź§mily-leave benefits to seveź¦ral Trump political appointees.
Vš„anessa Ambrosini, who worked four years in Trumpās Commerce Department, got approved for three months of parental leave when she and her husband welcomed a child a week beforeš½ Christmas. But when President Biden took office, she discovered she was no longer granted the benefit, .
āI gotį£ completely screwed,ā she said. āThere were no caveats in that language sayšing anything about if the administration turns, you get nothing, and of course, that happened and so I got nothing.ā
Several other Trump officials also lost their benefits. The White House declined to go on record, bāut an official told Politico that political appointees āź¦do not enjoy the promise of federal employment past the end of the administration in which they choose to serve.ā
And sure, fair. But these employees were told the Biden administration would honor their approved family leave, only š®to find out at the last minute it would eānd as soon as Biden was sworn in.
The anonymous official, according to Politico, also cited Tršumpās failing to execute a quick and orderly transition. And that sešÆems to be the nugget of it: Trumpās political appointees are guilty by association.
Thereās no precedent for whether or not to honor leave in such circumstances, as the paid-leave benefit only went into effect in October. But Biden tweeted in praise of the law in 2019, saying it was “about time that federal workers get paid parental leave” to “address their own health needs or care for any of their loved ones.” Is there any other circumstance where liberals wouldn’t want a generous interpretation of family-leave rules?
This petty vindictiveness doesn’t auger well for Biden’s vows to heal the nation’s divisions.