President Trump’s new executive order aimed at reclassifying a significant number of federal employees as at-will workers is causing concern among experts and unions. The order creates a new category called “Schedule Policy/Career” for positions deemed confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued guidance stating that the president has the authority to directly nullify regulations put in place by the Biden administration to protect civil servants.
OPM acting Director Charles Ezell wrote, “In Restoring Accountability, President Trump used his authority under the Constitution and 5 U.S.C. §§ 3301 and 3302 to directly nullify these regulations.”
Agencies are required to compile lists of policy-related jobs, with an initial deadline of April 20, 2025, to submit positions for reclassification.
Concerns over reclassification policy impacts
The broad language of the order has raised concerns that many government positions, including those at critical agencies like the Pentagon, may be affected.
Experts like Don Kettl, former Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, believe the administration chose this approach to assert the president’s fundamental power and challenge opponents in court. Sharon Parrott, a former Office of Management and Budget appointee under President Obama, suggests that these moves “will almost surely lead many expert knowledgeable career civil servants to withhold their best advice.”
Federal labor groups, such as the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), are combating the order through legal action. They argue that President Trump exceeded his authority by rolling back an OPM regulation designed to protect civil servants.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders stated, “Our union was born in the fight for a professional, non-partisan civil service, and our communities will pay the price if these anti-union extremists are allowed to undo decades of progress by stripping these workers of their freedoms.”
This developing legal and political battle marks another significant moment in the ongoing debate over the future of the federal civil service system.
