President Trump announced on Friday that career government employees involved in policy work will be reclassified as “Schedule Policy/Career” employees. This means they can be let go if they do not support his agenda. Trump’s decision comes as part of his plan to reshape the federal workforce, making sure that it aligns closely with his administration’s goals.
In a message shared on Truth Social, Trump said the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would be introducing new Civil Service Regulations that are set to impact around 50,000 federal employees, which is roughly 2% of the workforce. The new rules will apply to employees whose roles involve important policy-making and implementing duties, categorizing them as “at-will” employees. This change will remove the lengthy procedures previously in place for addressing employee performance issues, which many viewed as ineffective.
Trump emphasized that if these government workers do not advance the administration’s policy priorities or engage in corrupt practices, they should be dismissed. He argued this approach is sensible and necessary to ensure accountability and reduce corruption in the federal workforce.
The new regulations are designed to enable federal agencies to swiftly remove employees in key policy roles for any poor performance or misconduct, streamlining the process and limiting the bureaucratic hurdles that previously hampered such actions. While the affected employees are not required to personally agree with the President, they must faithfully enforce the laws and the administration’s policies.
This move is part of a broader effort to reduce the size of government and increase efficiency. The White House explained that the changes would restore accountability to positions that influence federal policy, thus allowing the government to operate more like a business.
