The Trump administration on Thursday finalized a sweeping new rule aimed at reshaping the federal workforce, granting the executive branch broader authority to remove tens of thousands of government employees who play a role in shaping policy. The move is being framed by the administration as a necessary step to ensure that federal workers carry out the priorities set by elected leadership.
The rule, known as Schedule Policy/Career, or Schedule P/C, reclassifies an estimated 50,000 federal employees into a category that more closely resembles political appointees, making them easier to dismiss. In doing so, the rule rolls back long-standing civil service protections and alters how whistleblower complaints are handled.
Administration officials have been explicit about the goal: removing federal workers they believe are obstructing the president’s agenda. The change reflects President Donald Trump’s long-standing warnings about what he calls a “Deep State” within the federal government that works to undermine elected leadership from within.
“This is not about people’s views or ideas,” said Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, which issued the rule. Kupor said the focus is on whether employees are refusing to carry out their duties in line with the administration’s objectives. If disagreement turns into active efforts to thwart policy, he said, that behavior will no longer be tolerated.
Federal worker unions reacted with fierce opposition. The American Federation of Government Employees warned that the rule opens the door to politicizing what has traditionally been a professional civil service. AFGE President Everett Kelley called the rule a direct attack on a merit-based system, arguing it replaces neutral expertise with political loyalty.
Union leaders also raised alarms about changes to whistleblower protections. Under the new rule, Schedule P/C employees would no longer be allowed to bring complaints of waste, fraud, or abuse to the independent Office of Special Counsel. Instead, they must file complaints internally within their own agencies.
Kupor said those complaints would be reviewed by the agency’s general counsel, a political appointee, who would then assign an investigator not directly involved in the matter. He described this approach as the best available option under the new framework.
Legal challenges are already lining up. AFGE and other organizations had previously sued to block the policy during its development. While litigation was paused during the rulemaking process, it is expected to resume. Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman accused the administration of trying to bypass the law to make it easier to fire employees for political reasons, vowing to fight the rule in court.
This is not the first time Trump has pursued such changes. Near the end of his first term, he introduced a similar classification known as Schedule F, which was also challenged in court. Former President Joe Biden later implemented a rule blocking reclassification without employee consent, a move Trump is now undoing.
Democrats on Capitol Hill condemned the change. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner said the rule threatens the stability of the civil service and could harm national security and access to government services.
Supporters of the administration’s approach argue the rule restores accountability to a federal bureaucracy that has grown insulated from consequences, while critics see it as a fundamental shift away from the merit-based system the country has relied on since the 1800s.
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