Trump Reclassified 8,000 Federal Workers as At-Will Employees. They Can Now Be Fired Without Cause.

8,000 Jobs, No Protections

The president signed an executive order reclassifying approximately 8,000 senior civil servants as at-will employees under a designation called “Schedule Policy/Career,” formerly known as Schedule F. These workers can now be fired for any reason, without cause, without notice, and without appeal.

8,000 now. Up to 50,000 targeted. Hundreds of thousands potentially eligible. The federal government employs 2.3 million civilians. Approximately 4,000 political appointees could already be dismissed at will. This order doubles that number overnight.

The positions affected are those the administration defines as “confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating.” In practice, that means supervisors of lawyers at the Justice Department, scientists overseeing research at the National Institutes of Health, and senior career staff across every federal agency.

What Workers Lost

The reclassification strips protections that career federal employees have held since the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.

Protection	Before	After Reclassification
Firing standard	For cause only	Any reason (at-will)
Notice before termination	Required	Not required
Appeal to Merit Systems Protection Board	Yes	No
Whistleblower complaints to MSPB	Yes	No
Political coercion protections	Covered	Not covered

The OPM’s final rule, effective March 9, 2026, stated agencies could “swiftly remove personnel from critical roles who engage in misconduct, perform inadequately, or undermine the democratic process by deliberately contravening Presidential directives.”

Stacey Young, a former Justice Department employee, told NPR: “There would be no obligation to provide reasons for dismissing individuals.” She warned that firing workers based on political considerations “would negatively impact the American public by removing the safeguards that allow brilliant, qualified individuals to dedicate their careers to public service.”

The Timeline: Six Years From Idea to Order

Date	Event
October 2020	Trump first issues Schedule F late in first term
January 2021	Biden rescinds it on entering office
January 20, 2025	Trump reinstates on first day back, renamed “Schedule Policy/Career”
February 2026	OPM finalizes the implementing rule
March 9, 2026	Rule takes effect
June 2026	Executive order designates the first 8,000 positions

Steve Stier, a former Merit Systems Protection Board member, noted that the U.S. already has “approximately 4,000 political appointees in the federal government who can be dismissed at will, a figure that is considerably higher than in other democratic nations.”

What the Unions Said

The National Treasury Employees Union called the reclassification “contrary to Congress’s intent in establishing broad protections for most federal employees.”

The American Federation of Government Employees said: “At a moment when the American people are watching government up close, and demanding competence, stability, and professionalism, the OPM’s new rule pushes the federal workforce in the opposite direction.”

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund argued that “federal employment statutes have not changed. Federal workers are still protected by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and many other federal laws and rules.”

What You Can Do Now

Call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to pass the Saving the Civil Service Act, which would block Schedule Policy/Career reclassifications and restore merit-based protections for career federal employees.
Contact your representative and ask them to hold oversight hearings on the reclassification. Congress created the civil service merit system. The executive branch is dismantling it by executive order.
If you are a federal employee affected by the reclassification, contact NTEU or AFGE for legal guidance on your rights. The NAACP LDF maintains a federal worker rights guide.
Support the Government Accountability Project which is tracking whistleblower protections for reclassified workers.