servants

Other witnesses included civil servants, experts and groups representing bereaved families, older people and those with disabilities.

The Republican president-elect announced on Wednesday that Hegseth, a television host and veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was his nominee for defence secretary - a role typically filled by senior civil servants, experienced politicians and high-level executives.

He has also pledged to fire thousands of civil servants unless they pledge to be loyal to him, as well as scrub references to climate change from government documents.

He would, as attorney general, almost certainly try to fire many of the agency’s 115,000 employees—career civil servants who pride themselves on integrity and independence—so he can replace them with staunch partisans.

It says that there is only enough money to offer civil servants a 3% pay increase for 2024/25.