When told to break the law, must feds just follow orders?
In January, Tracee Mergen, a supervisor in the FBI’s Minneapolis field office, was told to stop investigating the ICE agent who killed Renée Good.
一月份，联邦调查局明尼阿波利斯外地办事处主管特雷西·梅尔根 (Tracee Mergen) 被告知停止调查杀害蕾妮·古德 (Renee Good) 的 ICE 特工。
Instead, she quit .
相反，她退出了。
Last year, a court order prohibited DOGE from accessing Social Security records, but many Social Security Administration employees, fearing they’d be fired, continued to give DOGE access.
去年，法院命令禁止 DOGE 访问社会保障记录，但许多社会保障管理局员工担心自己会被解雇，继续向 DOGE 提供访问权限。
They all had another option, but they likely didn’t know it.
他们都有另一种选择，但他们可能不知道。
In November 2025, Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and four House members released a video reminding service members that they can and should refuse to obey unlawful orders.
2025 年 11 月，参议员马克·凯利（亚利桑那州民主党）和艾丽莎·斯洛特金（密歇根州民主党）以及四名众议院议员发布了一段视频，提醒军人他们可以而且应该拒绝服从非法命令。
The President claimed they were “ seditious ” and could be “ punish[ed] by death ,” but American service members are bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice to follow the law and, if given an illegal order, to refuse to obey it.
总统声称他们是“煽动者”，可能会被“判处死刑”，但美国军人受到《统一军事司法法典》的约束，必须遵守法律，如果收到非法命令，不得拒绝服从。
What about the more than 2 million civilian federal public servants ?
那么超过200万的文职联邦公务员呢？
Unfortunately, there are many examples of illegal orders given to them.
不幸的是，向他们发出非法命令的例子有很多。
When a federal prosecutor is told to prosecute someone who has not committed a crime and for which there is no evidence, or is told to lie to the courts, must they do so?
当联邦检察官被告知要起诉没有犯罪且没有证据的人，或者被告知向法庭撒谎时，他们必须这样做吗？
When employees at the IRS or Social Security are directed to release legally protected information , must they follow orders?
当国税局或社会保障局的员工被要求公开受法律保护的信息时，他们必须遵守命令吗？
The Follow the Rules Act —passed unanimously by Congress and signed into law by President Trump in 2017—unequivocally says that public servants cannot be compelled to obey illegal orders.
《遵守规则法案》——由国会一致通过并由特朗普总统于 2017 年签署成为法律——明确规定不能强迫公务员遵守非法命令。
Under the act, federal employees cannot be fired, demoted, or sanctioned in any way for refusing to follow an order that would violate the law—whether it’s the Constitution, statutes, agency rules, appropriations, or federal regulations.
根据该法案，联邦雇员不得因拒绝遵守违反法律的命令而被解雇、降级或以任何方式制裁——无论是宪法、法规、机构规则、拨款还是联邦法规。
If directed to do something that violates a law, rule, or regulation, federal personnel are legally allowed to—and arguably must—refuse to obey.
如果被指示去做违反法律、规则或法规的事情，联邦人员在法律上可以——而且可以说必须——拒绝服从。
When joining federal service, every public employee signs and recites an oath to “faithfully discharge the duties of the office …
在加入联邦服务时，每位公职人员都会签署并背诵“忠实履行办公室职责……”的誓言。
So help me God.” That oath requires that they comply with our nation’s laws.
所以请上帝帮助我。”该誓言要求他们遵守我们国家的法律。
This is the sacred duty of all government employees.
这是所有政府工作人员的神圣职责。
It doesn’t change from administration to administration.
它不会因管理而改变。
This is not about policy disagreements: The law doesn’t permit a public servant, military or civilian, to disobey an order solely because they disagree with a policy.
这与政策分歧无关：法律不允许公务员（无论是军人还是平民）仅仅因为不同意某项政策而违反命令。
Nor does the law rely solely on the employee’s view that an order is unlawful.
法律也不仅仅依赖于员工认为命令非法的观点。
That decision is ultimately made by entities such as the Merit Systems Protection Board or a military court under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
该决定最终由功绩制度保护委员会或军事法院等实体根据《统一军事司法法典》做出。
When considering questions about the legality of an order, federal employees have resources.
在考虑有关命令合法性的问题时，联邦雇员有资源。
Organizations such as Rise Up Federal Workers Legal Defense Network , The Orders Project , the Veterans Legal Services Clinic , as well as federal employee unions, can help them.
Rise Up 联邦工人法律辩护网络、The Orders Project、退伍军人法律服务诊所以及联邦雇员工会等组织可以为他们提供帮助。
They can also file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) or the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), though the administration has systematically undermined those agencies.
他们还可以向特别法律顾问办公室（OSC）或功绩制度保护委员会（MSPB）提出投诉，尽管政府系统性地削弱了这些机构。
However, most federal employees have never heard of the Follow the Rules Act.
然而，大多数联邦雇员从未听说过《遵守规则法案》。
Why isn’t anyone telling them?
为什么没有人告诉他们？
It’s clear why the administration doesn’t—it likely doesn’t want career public servants questioning their political overseers.
很明显，为什么政府不这样做——它可能不希望职业公务员质疑他们的政治监督者。
But what about others who care about the public service?
但其他关心公共服务的人呢？
Thus far, there’s been passive silence from the press, members of Congress, civil institutions, trade unions, and others.
到目前为止，媒体、国会议员、民间机构、工会和其他方面一直保持沉默。
They could follow the example of Sens.
他们可以效仿桑斯的例子。
Kelly and Slotkin and their colleagues, reminding public servants of their rights and their obligations under the law.
凯利和斯洛特金及其同事提醒公务员注意法律规定的权利和义务。
(The Supreme Court recently determined that, with few exceptions, the president may fire appointed and confirmed heads of independent agencies at will and without cause.
（最高法院最近裁定，除少数例外，总统可以随意且无理由地解雇任命和确认的独立机构负责人。
Although the Trump v.
尽管特朗普诉。
Slaughter rule may or may not ultimately be applied to lower-level federal employees, it does not confer on federal officials the right to order illegal acts, nor excuse public servants from obeying them.
屠杀规则最终可能会或可能不会适用于较低级别的联邦雇员，它并不赋予联邦官员命令非法行为的权利，也不作为公务员不服从他们的借口。
The Follow the Rules Act continues to apply.)
《遵守规则法》继续适用。）
It takes real courage for public servants to demonstrate integrity in the face of an unlawful order.
公务员在面对非法命令时表现出正直需要真正的勇气。
They may fear for their reputation, or losing their job, or maybe even being prosecuted.
他们可能担心自己的声誉，或失去工作，甚至可能被起诉。
Nonetheless, some public servants already quit when asked to disobey the law.
尽管如此，一些公务员在被要求遵守法律时已经辞职。
How many more would act if they knew the law is on their side?
如果他们知道法律站在他们一边，还有多少人会采取行动？
This kind of courage is essential: Hundreds of millions of Americans are depending on their public servants to do the right thing.
这种勇气至关重要：数亿美国人依靠他们的公务员来做正确的事。
If the Follow the Rules Act were better known, then perhaps more public servants might be willing to resist improper orders—and more military and civilian leaders might think twice before giving them.
如果《遵守规则法案》更广为人知，那么也许会有更多的公务员愿意抵制不当命令，而更多的军事和文职领导人在下达命令之前可能会三思而后行。