The Trump administration has announced a new rule that makes it easier for federal workers to be fired. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is reclassifying certain career civil service roles so that agencies can "quickly remove employees from critical positions who engage in misconduct, perform poorly, or obstruct the democratic process by intentionally subverting Presidential directives." This change means that many nonpartisan roles would be shifted into a category called "Schedule Policy/Career," effectively treating them as political appointees.
The rule would allow the administration to remove employees it views as disloyal and also prohibits personal or political loyalty tests as a condition of employment. Critics argue that this change would open the door to politically motivated purges.
"We have successfully fought this kind of power grab before, and we will fight this again," said Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward. "We will return to court to stop this unlawful rule and will use every legal tool available to hold this administration accountable to the people."
The largest union representing federal workers, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), has called the rule a "direct assault on a professional, nonpartisan, merit-based civil service." The organization's president, Everett Kelley, said that OPM is rebranding career public servants as "policy" employees and silencing whistleblowers.
This change comes after Trump briefly enacted a similar rule at the end of his first term through an executive order known as "Schedule F," which was rescinded by Joe Biden upon taking office in 2021. Stripping civil service protections has also been a central plank of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 blueprint.
OPM director Scott Kupor said that the reclassification would bring "much-needed accountability to career policy-influencing positions in the Federal government." However, critics see this as an attempt by the administration to silence dissent and punish perceived disloyalty.
The rule would allow the administration to remove employees it views as disloyal and also prohibits personal or political loyalty tests as a condition of employment. Critics argue that this change would open the door to politically motivated purges.
"We have successfully fought this kind of power grab before, and we will fight this again," said Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward. "We will return to court to stop this unlawful rule and will use every legal tool available to hold this administration accountable to the people."
The largest union representing federal workers, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), has called the rule a "direct assault on a professional, nonpartisan, merit-based civil service." The organization's president, Everett Kelley, said that OPM is rebranding career public servants as "policy" employees and silencing whistleblowers.
This change comes after Trump briefly enacted a similar rule at the end of his first term through an executive order known as "Schedule F," which was rescinded by Joe Biden upon taking office in 2021. Stripping civil service protections has also been a central plank of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 blueprint.
OPM director Scott Kupor said that the reclassification would bring "much-needed accountability to career policy-influencing positions in the Federal government." However, critics see this as an attempt by the administration to silence dissent and punish perceived disloyalty.
this is super concerning... if they can just classify anyone who disagrees with them as a 'disloyal' employee then we're in trouble 
. it's like they think they can just do whatever they want without any consequences or accountability 
. and what about all the whistleblowers out there who might speak up and get silenced because of this new rule? 
it's like they're trying to create a culture of fear in our government 
. i'm not sure how anyone can trust that someone in a position of power won't use this new rule to punish their enemies or silence them 
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. And what about those nonpartisan roles that are just trying to do their jobs? Are they not good enough for the agency? 
It's like they're being forced out of their own building just because they don't agree with the administration's views.
. Whistleblowers are basically being silenced, which is not cool at all 
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, 'cause we need our nonpartisan workers to be able to do their jobs without fear of retribution. 
This is gonna be good... So basically, Trump's all like "I'm gonna make it easier for me to fire whoever I don't like" and now he's changing the rules to let him do just that? 
Yeah, that's not how it works... or is it? 
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. And if we look at the numbers from the 2020 Civil Service Survey, we can see that nearly 40% of employees felt they were being treated unfairly by management 
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. I mean, what's next? Silencing whistleblowers and punishing perceived disloyalty? 
. We can't let this administration continue to trample our civil service protections 
. We need to stay vigilant and fight for our right to a fair, professional civil service system 
. It feels like they're trying to undermine the entire merit-based system that's supposed to keep politics out of the federal workforce 
. The fact that they can just reclassify nonpartisan roles as "Schedule Policy/Career" and start treating them like political appointees is straight-up worrying 
. The AFGE is right, this rule is a direct assault on the very principles of a professional, nonpartisan civil service 
. We need to keep an eye on this one and make sure it doesn't get out of hand 
I'm all for accountability, but come on, can't we do this stuff in a way that doesn't feel so... sinister? 
. I'm not surprised that unions and advocacy groups are speaking out against it - they're trying to hold the administration accountable to the people 
. The fact that OPM director Scott Kupor is framing this change as bringing 'much-needed accountability' feels like a clear case of spin 
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It's not about accountability at all, it's about silencing dissent and getting rid of anyone who might question the admin's decisions. And what about whistleblower protection? That's basically gone out the window now. 
This is a huge blow to the integrity of our civil service system and I'm so worried about where this is going. It's gonna be a dark time for us if we let them get away with this...
. It's also worth noting that the median tenure for a federal employee is around 15 years, so many people have been working in these roles for a long time and have invested a lot in them 
. This rule has already led to a 20% increase in job openings for policy positions, which is a major red flag 
. According to a report by the Government Accountability Project, there were 2,300 whistleblower complaints filed during Trump's first term, which is a significant increase from previous years 
. If this new rule silences more whistleblowers, it could be a major blow to government transparency and accountability 
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. I mean, what's next? Are we gonna start reclassifying judges and generals too? 
, but now they're making it a game of risk vs reward 
they're already some of our most dedicated and hardworking public servants, and now it sounds like their voices might be silenced by this new rule. I hope Skye Perryman is right that this will end up in court again 
we need to make sure that our civil service protections are upheld and that everyone who works for the federal government is treated fairly and with respect 