Trump administration rule reclassifies 50,000 federal staff as at-will, easing firings

The Trump administration on Thursday finalized a rule that would reclassify approximately 50,000 senior career federal employees into a new category, stripping them of traditional job protections and allowing them to be fired at will. The change affects about 2% of the federal workforce, targeting staff in policy-related roles who would be moved into a classification called “Schedule Policy/Career.”

Rationale and Criticism

The administration stated the rule aims to address “great difficulty” in removing employees for poor performance or misconduct and to prevent the “intentional subversion” of presidential directives. Critics, including federal worker unions and advocacy groups, argue the move is designed to replace experienced, nonpartisan civil servants with politically loyal appointees, undermining the independence of the federal workforce. A coalition of more than 30 organizations has threatened legal action.

Background and Precedents

The rule revives a similar policy—Schedule F—that was introduced shortly before the 2020 election and later reversed by President Joe Biden in 2024. Biden’s rule had strengthened protections for career employees, which the new directive overturns. The latest change is based on an executive order Trump signed on his first day in office in 2025.

Previous Workforce Reductions

Last year, following Trump’s return to office, a large-scale purge of federal employees was carried out under the direction of billionaire Elon Musk. Hundreds of thousands were dismissed, many despite positive performance records. Although some regained their positions through court challenges, roughly 12% of the civilian federal workforce was removed, according to a New York Times analysis.