U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled a sweeping proposal to reclassify tens of thousands of federal employees as "at-will" workers under a newly created designation, "Schedule Policy/Career," allowing for the dismissal of civil servants who do not align with his policy priorities. "Following my Day One Executive Order, the Office of Personnel Management will be issuing new Civil Service Regulations for career government employees," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. "Career government employees, working on policy matters, will be classified as 'Schedule Policy/Career,' and will be held to the highest standards of conduct and performance." The move revives and broadens Trump's earlier "Schedule F" initiative, which sought to remove civil service protections from employees involved in policy-making roles. That effort was rescinded by President Joe Biden early in his term. A White House memo said the new classification could affect around 50,000 federal workers—roughly 2% of the U.S. civil service—and would reverse Biden-era protections that aimed to preserve nonpartisan professionalism in the federal workforce. Under the proposed rule, agencies would be able to terminate employees without the standard protections of due process, targeting those with duties described as "policy-determining, policy-making, policy-advocating, or confidential." "If these government workers refuse to advance the policy interests of the President, or are engaging in corrupt behavior, they should no longer have a job," Trump said. "This is common sense, and will allow the federal government to finally be 'run like a business.'" The change would not take immediate effect but would require a follow-up executive order. According to a White House fact sheet, employees would not be required to personally support the president but would be expected to "faithfully implement the law and the administration's policies." Critics have warned that the proposal could politicize the civil service and erode institutional norms, while supporters argue it will improve accountability and performance within the federal government. — Agencies
