Schedule F strips ~8,000 workers' protections

Summary

President Trump's executive order on January 20, 2025, "Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce," reinstated and expanded Schedule F (renamed Schedule Policy/Career), which OPM estimated could strip civil service protections from about 50,000 federal employees in senior and policy-adjacent roles. A June 2026 executive order moved nearly 8,000 positions into the new schedule.

What happened

Originally created and then rescinded in 2020-2021, the restored order reclassifies GS-15 and equivalent positions deemed "policy-influencing" into an excepted service category, removing standard adverse action procedures and Merit Systems Protection Board appeal rights. OPM finalized implementing regulations in February 2026, formally designating these workers as at-will employees. OPM initially estimated the change would cover about 50,000 positions, roughly 2% of the federal workforce; the positions actually moved in June 2026 numbered nearly 8,000, nearly all at the GS-15 level.

Impact on the United States

Career civil servants in senior analytical, scientific, regulatory, and enforcement roles face dismissal for policy disagreement rather than performance. This fundamentally weakens the non-partisan character of the federal workforce and exposes regulatory and enforcement functions to political interference. The change makes it significantly easier to replace expert career officials with political loyalists.

Documented effects

1. Feb 2026OPM issued final regulations implementing Schedule Policy/Career in February 2026, removing statutory adverse-action procedures and MSPB appeal rights for positions placed in the new schedule; the announcement did not say how many positions would be moved.[3]
2. The June 2026 list of reclassified positions spans the executive branch: the Defense Department listed the most position codes (more than 1,600), followed by Homeland Security (571) and Health and Human Services (400); roles include division heads, program managers and officials overseeing spending and grants.[5][4]
3. Jun 2026A June 3, 2026 executive order moved nearly 8,000 positions, nearly all at the GS-15 level, into Schedule Policy/Career - far below OPM's initial estimate of 50,000.[4][5]

Why this is rated significant

Removes standard adverse-action procedures and MSPB appeal rights from about 8,000 policy-role positions (OPM had estimated up to 50,000), a structural change to the merit system though dismissals are not yet at full scale.

Corrections & updates [8]

Every change to a fact on this page after publication is logged here, newest first.

1. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSource

   The NPR source was listed under the wrong headline; its published title is "Thousands of federal workers would be easier to fire under Trump rule change."[2]

2. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedFigure

   The February 2026 final rule did not itself remove appeal rights from a set number of employees; the OPM announcement gives no count. The 50,000 (about 2% of the workforce) figure was OPM's initial estimate, not an outside experts' estimate. When positions were actually moved in June 2026, the number was nearly 8,000.[1][3][4]

3. Sep 29, 2026UpdatedFigure

   A June 3, 2026 executive order moved nearly 8,000 positions, nearly all at the GS-15 level, into Schedule Policy/Career - far below OPM's initial estimate of 50,000. The administration has not ruled out expanding the list.[4][5]

4. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedKey facts

   The claim that the order applies to staff at EPA, FDA and SEC was not supported by the cited NPR article. The White House list published in June 2026 shows the Defense Department reclassifying the most position codes (more than 1,600), followed by Homeland Security (571) and Health and Human Services (400).[4][5]

5. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSummary card

   The summary card said the order reclassified tens of thousands of career civil servants. OPM had estimated about 50,000 positions could be covered, but the June 3, 2026 order moved nearly 8,000 positions, nearly all at the GS-15 level, into Schedule Policy/Career (NPR, Federal News Network).[4][5][3]

   + Show previous and current text- Hide previous and current text

   Previously

   Trump reinstated Schedule F on inauguration day, reclassifying tens of thousands of career civil servants including scientists, regulators, and enforcement specialists as at-will employees removable without cause.

   Now

   Trump reinstated Schedule F on inauguration day. OPM estimated it could cover about 50,000 positions, but the June 2026 order moved nearly 8,000, nearly all at the GS-15 level, into an at-will category without standard adverse-action procedures or MSPB appeal rights.

6. Sep 29, 2026ClarifiedSeverity rationale

   The severity rationale said the change 'structurally weakens the merit system'; it now describes what the change removes. Severity unchanged.

   + Show previous and current text- Hide previous and current text

   Previously

   Strips civil-service protections from about 8,000 policy-role positions (OPM had estimated up to 50,000), structurally weakening the merit system though dismissals are not yet at full scale.

   Now

   Removes standard adverse-action procedures and MSPB appeal rights from about 8,000 policy-role positions (OPM had estimated up to 50,000), a structural change to the merit system though dismissals are not yet at full scale.

7. Sep 29, 2026ClarifiedSource labels

   Source tier labels brought in line with the site's tier rule (specialist and trade publications are Tier 3; general news organizations are Tier 2): Federal News Network (Tier 2 to 3). No claim in the entry changed.

8. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedCost estimate

   The Schedule F cost was our own estimate; the only published figure is a think tank's warning that it 'could' cost hundreds of millions of dollars, with no amount or timeframe. The entry now books $0 and says why. It also now says about 8,000 positions were moved (not ~10,000).

   Previously

   $500M so far; $4B 10yr; $6B 15yr

   Now

   $0 (no published estimate)

Sources [5]