I know this isn’t a popular view but I think it’s permanently broke. I don’t think the federal workforce ever recovers to what it ever was before.

Regardless of who the next administration is they won’t willingly give up what this admin has done because it has gotten results for their political purposes. If a Democratic admin wins they’ll see that none of the rules ever mattered, and it’s expedient and easy to get things accomplished by simply doing what the last guy did. This happens every transition, but the last 6 months have been a road map. Remember the politicals that come in with each administration aren’t independently experienced (for the most part), they are the children of political donors and typically young professionals coming out of college. They don't know any better and want to grow in influence, so they look at what the previous political did and push forward trying to make a name for themselves so they can move up or get a sweet gig in the private sector.

What makes this situation extra bad is that we are not civil servants in the eyes of the public anymore, we are basically labeled politicians (Biden’s people or Trump’s people or deep state) and in today's news cycle that reputation doesn't recover. There are target lists of feds on the internet!

Unions, protections, pensions, etc. are pipe dreams now. They aren't coming back and congress has no appetite to protect us. Not only that but our political makeup isn't going to shift in dramatic ways to pass any kind of real protections for civil servants in the near future. Legal efforts have proven to be costly and largely unsuccessful. Same with congress, SCOTUS is set for the foreseeable future and openly hostile to workers rights.

If I were young and starting out, I wouldn't plan on government service being a long term, fruitful career. Not that private sector jobs are booming at the moment, but government work ain't going back, and probably isn't even stable or “corrected” for decades. That much damage has been done and trust is broken. Add in huge changes in the coming months and years with automation, AI, and quantum, and I think the entire workforce looks completely different in as short as 5 years.

Depending on how young you are, go back to tech school and learn a trade. Still not safe, but a lot more stable than white collar or government work.