What is "ramspecking"?

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s reference to an obscure law at Tuesday’s briefing left many members of the press corps scratching their heads — and turning to Google.

A reporter asked Spicer if President Donald Trump believes in the “deep state” — a conspiracy theory circulated among some Trump supporters that purports Obama holdovers in the federal government are attempting to undercut the president’s agenda.

“There are people that burrow into government after an administration — this has been going back since the beginning of time,” Spicer answered. “They used to call it ‘ramspecking.’”

Spicer’s use of the term prompted some quizzical follow-up questions. His response? “Google it,” he instructed reporters.

Here’s how the New York Times defined “ramspecking” in 1989:

“Ramspecking” is the process whereby a congressional staffer who has become unemployed through “involuntary acts” (due to a member’s death, lack of congressional funds, or as a result of his boss getting beat like a redheaded mule) bypasses others in line for a federal job, allowing him to obtain a highly secure, low-exertion civil service post. This is also known as “burrowing in.”

According to The New Yorker, the word was coined from the Ramspeck Act of 1940. That law, in turn, shares the name of Rep. Robert Ramspeck, a Democrat from the Atlanta area who served in Congress from 1929 to 1945 and later chaired the U.S. Civil Service Commission.