White House to end civil service protections for 50,000 federal workers

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is moving forward with “Schedule F,” a policy that will remove civil service protections for tens of thousands of federal workers, effectively making it easier for President Donald Trump’s administration to fire them. 

The news was first reported by Axios and later confirmed in a statement from the White House. Activating Schedule F would mean 50,000 workers at multiple agencies, including those under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), would be deemed “at-will” workers, subject to termination. 

While the Trump administration made its intent clear on Friday, an official executive order has yet to be issued. The White House said the policy shift is intended to improve “accountability” and would fix a “broken system” by ensuring staff work in alignment with the executive’s agenda.  

“These employees will keep their competitive status and are not required to personally or politically support the president, but must faithfully implement the law and the administration’s policies,” the White House wrote.

“OPM estimates 50,000 positions will ultimately be moved into [Schedule F], approximately 2% of the Federal workforce,” the Trump administration added, confirming that an executive order was forthcoming. 

The Trump administration emphasized its intent to remove “bureaucrats” who “oppose presidential policies and impose their own preferences.” The White House argues employees are able to circumvent its agenda through procedural rules it intends to effectively eliminate by terminating staff.

“Unaccountable bureaucracy undermines democracy. For the government to be accountable to the American people, elected officials must be able to hold policy-determining and policy-making career employees accountable for their performance and conduct,” the White House wrote.