Schedule F: Stripping Job Protections from 50,000 Federal Workers
Trump reinstated Schedule F, reclassifying 50,000 federal employees as at-will workers who can be fired for political reasons. Combined with DOGE cuts, 317,000 federal employees left government by end of 2025.
On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order reinstating "Schedule F" (renamed "Schedule Policy/Career"), reclassifying approximately 50,000 federal employees in "policy-influencing" positions as effectively at-will employees, stripping civil service protections that had been in place since the Pendleton Act of 1883.
The civil service merit system was created specifically to end the corrupt "spoils system" where government jobs were handed out as political rewards. Schedule F would return to that model for tens of thousands of positions.
The OPM finalized the rule in February 2026 with a March 8, 2026 effective date — despite the fact that 94% of over 40,000 public comments opposed it.
Combined with DOGE-driven layoffs and purges, the impact on federal capacity was devastating: 317,000 federal employees left government by the end of 2025. Essential services — from food safety inspections to air traffic control to veterans' healthcare — faced staffing crises.
The replacement of merit-based civil service with political loyalty tests represented a fundamental restructuring of American governance — prioritizing obedience to the president over competence in serving the public.