President Trump signed an executive order on June 3 that moved approximately 8,000 federal employees into a new employment category called Schedule Policy/Career, stripping them of long-standing civil service protections and making them at-will employees who can be fired for any reason.
The reclassification targets senior-level policy positions across government, including leaders of agency subcomponents, chief information officers, senior policy advisers, and high-level attorneys. Approximately 97% of the affected positions are at or above the GS-15 level, the highest grade in the civil service pay scale.
Under the new category, affected employees lose the right to appeal adverse actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board, the independent agency that typically hears federal employee disputes. They also become ineligible for student loan repayment assistance and recruitment or relocation incentives. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told reporters the move aims to improve accountability and ensure the federal workforce carries out the president’s policy agenda.
“This is very much about accountability,” Kupor said. “It’s also about a restoration, in our mind, of the democratic process.” He emphasized that nothing changes with the hiring process for reclassified employees and that whistleblower protections remain in place, though agencies would enforce those safeguards rather than an independent body.
The 8,000 positions targeted represent a fraction of what the Trump administration initially estimated. When the Office of Personnel Management proposed the Schedule Policy/Career rule in April 2025, it suggested as many as 50,000 federal workers could lose civil service protections. The administration has not ruled out expanding the pool at a later time, and agencies have seven days to update personnel records for the affected employees.
Federal unions and civil service advocacy groups have challenged the move in court, arguing it violates due process rights and exceeds presidential authority. Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, called it “a blatant attempt to corrupt the federal government by eliminating employees’ due process rights so they can be fired for political reasons.” He warned that workers who reported waste, fraud, or mismanagement would now fear retaliation.
Trump attempted a similar effort during his first term in 2020, issuing an executive order creating Schedule F in the final months of his presidency. The policy went largely unimplemented and was quickly rescinded by the Biden administration in January 2021. The Biden administration later issued regulations in 2024 aimed at reinforcing civil service protections and blocking Schedule F from resurfacing. The Trump administration rescinded those protections and issued its own regulations on Schedule Policy/Career, which required the executive order signed Wednesday to take effect.
Don Kettl, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland’s school of public policy, expressed concern about the long-term implications. “We’ve got a small bite of what could be a much bigger apple,” he said. “The challenge is whether or not this is just the beginning of a much broader set of conversions that may be coming down the line.” He noted that the affected positions carry significant accumulated expertise that could be lost if they are turned over for political responsiveness.
The policy faces multiple lawsuits. Plaintiffs allege that Schedule Policy/Career violates the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act and exceeds constitutional limits on presidential power. Legal experts predict the issue will ultimately reach the Supreme Court, where the Trump administration believes it has a favorable bench for arguments asserting broad presidential control over the executive branch.
Sources
- Federal News Network — executive order details, affected positions, OPM timeline, union and advocacy group statements, expert analysis
- NPR — executive order summary, at-will employee classification, civil service history, federal employee impact, litigation status
- The New York Times — initial OPM estimate of 50,000 affected positions
- Reuters — executive order confirmation and employee salary range
- Time Magazine — at-will employee classification and job protection removal
