As promised on the campaign trail, on his first day back in office President Trump restored Schedule F, now known as “Schedule Policy/Career,” which converts positions deemed “policy advisory” in the federal government to political, at-will employees. This will remove merit system job protections from thousands of employees.

On January 27, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance on implementation of the executive order, including language saying the administration can “directly nullify” regulations the Biden Administration created to protect federal employees if a future administration attempted to restore Schedule F.

The new executive order reinstates a classification of federal employees in the excepted service, “Schedule Policy/Career,” converting positions in the competitive service that are “of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character.” The exact number of positions impacted is unknown at this time, but is expected to be at least 50,000. For reference, the president appoints a little more than 4,000 political positions in the current system. Agencies are collecting lists of policy-related jobs, and the first deadline for agencies to report these positions for reclassification to OPM is April 20, 2025.

Heeding criticism of the original Schedule F executive order, the renewed Schedule Policy/Career executive order states employees converted to Schedule Policy/Career “are not required to personally or politically support the current president or the policies of the current administration. They are required to faithfully implement administration policies to the best of their ability. Failure to do so will be grounds for dismissal.”

However, FMA remains concerned about the return of this at-will classification politicizing the federal workforce, and expressed concern in a letter to President Trump. “We at FMA know it is absolutely necessary to maintain a non-political civil service,” FMA National President Craig Carter wrote. “A hallmark of America’s civil service is the foundational, fundamental understanding that federal employees swear an oath to the Constitution and provide services to all Americans, regardless of political party. The federal government cannot function effectively without this non-political civil service capable of preserving institutional memory and competence across administrations. We therefore adamantly oppose Schedule Policy/Career.”

FMA supports the Saving the Civil Service Act (H.R. 492 / S. 134), legislation that would uphold a merit-based civil service, free of politicization, and ensure the oath federal managers take is to the Constitution and not to any political party, Democratic or Republican.