Trump signs order to make it easier to fire 8,000 federal workers
The move removes appeal rights for mostly GS-15 senior civil servants and could make it easier to fire them without cause, officials said.
- On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order finalizing Schedule Policy/Career , reclassifying approximately 8,000 senior federal positions as at-will employees without civil service protections.
- Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor defended the change as restoring democratic accountability, arguing senior officials must align with administration priorities despite challenging a 140-year-old nonpartisan workforce model.
- Administration officials confirmed roughly 97% of affected employees hold GS-15 roles, the highest federal civil service level, including IT, cybersecurity, and policy positions, falling far short of initial 50,000 projections.
- AFGE National President Everett Kelley warned the policy could discourage whistleblowers from reporting misconduct, while Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman argued it compromises expertise essential for public health and safety services.
- Legal challenges remain active as advocacy groups amend lawsuits to contest the order's constitutionality, with experts predicting the case will reach the Supreme Court, where the administration seeks to leverage Article II powers for broader presidential control.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Trump Reclassifies 8,000 Senior Government Positions, Making Them Easier to Fire
President Donald Trump reclassified about 8,000 federal positions on Jan. 3, moving them into a new employment category with fewer civil service protections. By signing the executive order “Implementing Schedule Policy/Career in the Excepted Service,” Trump made it easier for employees in certain senior policy-making roles to be removed for poor performance. The move is aimed at making federal leaders who influence policy decisions “more account…
Unions rip Trump order making federal workers ‘at-will’ employees
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday making it easier to remove thousands of senior federal employees, prompting backlash from federal worker unions that accused the administration of attempting to politicize the civil service. The order reclassifies roughly 8,000 federal positions into a new category known as “Schedule Policy/Career,” affecting employees with significant policymaking responsibilities across the federal gov…
Trump's New Order Could Make 8,000 Federal Employees Easier To Fire
A sweeping new executive order signed by President Donald Trump is set to reshape a segment of the federal workforce, placing thousands of senior government employees in a category that could allow their dismissal without cause. The move, which expands presidential control over key agency roles, has already prompted legal concerns, political criticism and predictions of court challenges. The order affects a smaller group of workers than initiall…
Nearly 8,000 federal positions lose workforce protections under Trump order
President Donald Trump is rolling back federal workforce protections for nearly 8,000 federal roles under a new executive order signed Wednesday, with IT chiefs and their deputies among those impacted. The executive order finalizes the administration’s process of determining which specific government jobs fall under a controversial new administrative classification for federal roles called “Schedule Policy/Career.” That category was formally es…
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