Key facts
- President Trump signed an executive order creating a new employment classification, Schedule F.
- Approximately 8,000 federal employees are moved into 'at-will' employment status.
- Affected workers are in policy roles and can earn up to $200,000 annually.
- The move strips these workers of traditional job protections.
- Critics argue the reclassification effectively turns career employees into political appointees.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a new employment classification, Schedule F, for approximately 8,000 federal employees. This move strips these workers, who can earn up to $200,000 annually and influence government policy, of their traditional job protections. The order covers positions with a "confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating" nature, allowing them to be fired without a provided reason, similar to private sector employees. Critics argue this reclassification effectively turns these career employees into political appointees and could discourage dissent. The administration states the goal is to ensure workers can carry out the President's policy agenda, denying that reclassified workers will face loyalty tests or lose whistleblower protections. This policy revives a similar Schedule F from Trump's first term, which was revoked in 2021. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had previously projected up to 50,000 positions could be impacted.