alt Hacker NewsThere are exceptions to that - government employees are not required to follow illegal orders. The law says you can't be retaliated against for refusing such orders. There are also legal protections for whistleblowers reporting wrongdoing, at least theoretically (ask Snowden about that.)
This doesn't apply to executive orders renaming things of course, since they're not illegal. But the point is that working for the government is not some sort of legal suicide pact.
Even when asked to do something illegal, your options are to quit or to be in big trouble one way or another.
If you do the thing then you're a criminal. If you don't do it, your employer will still do everything they can to make your life hell, such as illegally firing you for insubordination to an illegal order - you might get your backpay in court if you're lucky later, but you're never getting your job back.