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Antipathy to the incoming president in the left-leaning national capital is no secret. Trump got just four per cent of the vote in Washington, D.C. Yet that’s worse than usual for a Republican — in fact, it’s the worst result for any since the district got voting rights in 1964.

There are now internal debates about how to proceed.

The employees who will have to execute the president’s orders are having office discussions about staying or leaving government; how to respond to an unethical demand; and whether it’s moral or even technically possible to thwart what they consider bad ideas.

Opinions differ.

A man who works in foreign affairs says federal employees are sworn to uphold the Constitution. He said everyone around him is unhappy. But if the democratically elected government asks employees to carry out constitutional orders they have two choices: “You execute. Or you leave.”

However, some suggest there’s actually a middle-of-the-road, third option historically favoured by skeptical bureaucrats: Execute, but very slowly.

Someone who works on climate policy says he’s heard people wonder whether Trump’s agenda might be stymied for a year. Then governing activity slows down in a midterm election year. Finally, the president starts worrying about his own re-election.

“People are already talking about that,” he said.

He likened the post-election mood in his office to that of a “funeral home.” In three words, he summarized the skepticism of government energy experts regarding Trump’s promises to out-of-work coal miners in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia — that he’d restore their jobs, in the face of global trends toward cheaper, cleaner natural gas and green technologies.