Trump Signs Order Stripping Civil Service Protections From 8,000 Federal Workers

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on June 3 signed an executive order removing civil service job protections from roughly 8,000 senior federal employees, converting them into at-will workers who can be dismissed without the procedural safeguards that have long governed the career civil service.

The order, titled "Implementing Schedule Policy/Career in the Excepted Service," formally transfers named positions across the executive branch into a new employment category that strips workers of adverse-action appeal rights. As reported by NPR, the affected employees can now be fired for any reason, and agencies no longer must follow formal processes that previously gave workers an opportunity to respond or appeal.

According to Federal News Network, agencies have seven days from the date of the order to notify affected employees and update their personnel records. The Office of Personnel Management said approximately 97 percent of the targeted positions are at or above the GS-15 level.

The scope of Wednesday's order was narrower than the administration had signaled. As reported by Government Executive, a senior administration official told reporters the order covers about 8,000 positions, well below the 50,000 figure OPM had earlier estimated. An OPM spokesperson said Trump chose to focus on "the most senior level career policy officials."

According to FedSmith, the order comes with a 229-page appendix listing specific position description numbers at more than 248 organizational units. The affected roles span agency office and division heads, chief information officers, senior policy advisers, budget officials, senior counsel, and legislative affairs officers at departments ranging from Agriculture to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The category, previously known as Schedule F during Trump's first term, was created by executive order in October 2020 but went largely unimplemented and was rescinded by President Biden in January 2021. Trump revived the framework under the new name on his first day back in office in January 2025, and OPM finalized a rule implementing the classification in February 2026.

Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, said at a briefing Wednesday that the change does not impose political loyalty tests. According to NPR, Kupor said whistleblower protections remain in place and employees cannot lawfully be fired based on political affiliation, though enforcement of those limits now falls to individual agencies rather than independent bodies.

Opponents disputed that framing. American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley, as quoted by FedSmith, said workers "who once felt comfortable reporting waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement" would now fear retaliation.

Multiple legal challenges are already in court. According to reporting by Attorneys for Federal Employees, a coalition that includes AFGE, AFSCME, the AFL-CIO, and Democracy Forward has active litigation arguing the reclassification violates the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, the Administrative Procedure Act, and constitutional due-process protections. Courts have not yet ruled on the merits of the June 3 order. According to FedSmith, every district court injunction granted against the framework has been stayed on appeal, leaving the policy in effect throughout.

The White House, in a fact sheet accompanying the order, stated that agencies can remove Schedule Policy/Career employees "for poor performance, misconduct, corruption, or subversion of Presidential directives without lengthy procedural hurdles." The administration has not ruled out expanding the pool of affected positions at a later date.

Sources cited:
- NPR (https://www.npr.org/2026/06/03/nx-s1-5742806/trump-federal-employees-civil-service-job-protections-schedule-f)
- Federal News Network (https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2026/06/trump-moves-about-8000-federal-positions-to-schedule-policy-career/)
- Government Executive (https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2026/06/trump-federal-employees-schedule-f/413945/)
- FedSmith (https://www.fedsmith.com/2026/06/03/what-the-new-schedule-policy-career-order-means-for-federal-employees/)
- Attorneys for Federal Employees (https://www.attorneysforfederalemployees.com/blog/2026/06/schedule-policy-career-tips-for-federal-employees-impacted-by-the-june-3-2026-executive-order/)
- White House (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/06/implementing-schedule-policy-career-in-the-excepted-service/)