Trump Reclassifies 8,000 Federal Workers as At-Will Employees, June 04

President Trump signed an executive order on June 3 reclassifying approximately 8,000 senior federal workers into a new employment category called Schedule Policy/Career. These employees lose civil service protections and can now be fired without formal procedures or appeals. The move affects mostly GS-15 level positions—the highest-ranking career roles outside the Senior Executive Service—and marks a major shift in federal workforce rules that has drawn sharp criticism from unions and employee advocates.

What Schedule Policy/Career Changes

Schedule Policy/Career positions are now at-will roles. Agencies can remove employees for poor performance, misconduct, corruption, or failure to follow presidential directives without lengthy procedural hurdles. Previously, federal employees could only be fired for specific reasons and had the right to appeal through the Merit Systems Protection Board.

About 97% of the 8,000 reclassified positions are GS-15 or Senior Level employees. These include agency directors, deputy directors, chiefs of staff, policy analysts, senior advisors, and employees involved in drafting regulations or managing federal grants. The administration stated that agencies have seven days to update personnel records following the order.

The Administration’s Rationale

Trump officials argue the change restores accountability to government. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told reporters that federal supervisors struggle to remove underperformers under current rules. He stated that only two-fifths of supervisors believe they could remove subordinates engaged in serious misconduct, and just one-quarter believe they could remove serious underperformers.

The administration says the reclassification does not change hiring processes or require political affiliation. Removal decisions will be made without regard to political views, according to the White House fact sheet on the order.

Scope and Legal Challenges

The 8,000 positions affected are smaller than the 50,000 originally estimated by the Office of Personnel Management. The administration has not ruled out expanding the pool later. The order faces multiple lawsuits from federal unions and employee organizations who argue it violates the Civil Service Reform Act.

This represents a tripling of at-will federal employees. The government currently has about 4,000 political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the president. The remaining 2 million federal workers previously could only be fired for specific reasons and had appeal rights.

Final Thoughts

Trump’s Schedule Policy/Career order removes job protections from 8,000 senior federal workers effective immediately. Legal battles over the rule’s constitutionality are likely to continue in the coming months.

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