Management
Critics argue new federal workforce rules increase the risk of politicization, not accountability
COMMENTARY | The debate over the Policy/Career Schedule centers on whether the changes strengthen accountability or erode civil service protections.
Management
As the number of political appointees surge and career SES ranks shrink, one nonprofit warns of ‘institutional consequences’
The Trump administration has sought to exert more political influence over the Senior Executive Service, which are the highest-ranking career civil servants.
Workforce
Employee groups revive lawsuit to block Schedule F
A coalition of labor unions and other employee advocacy groups say President Trump’s plan to convert around 50,000 federal workers to at-will employees violates federal law, the Constitution and threatens to upend the merit-based civil service.
Workforce
Continuing to shed federal workers remains ‘priority number one,’ White House official says
OMB deputy suggests that making it easier to fire feds will ‘liberate’ them to do their jobs better.
Management
The ‘new’ Policy/Career Schedule does NOT (necessarily) politicize the federal workforce
COMMENTARY | The Policy/Career Schedule may not be Trump 1.0's Schedule F, but there are guardrails that can allay some fears about its implications.
Management
Trump promised to ‘reclaim power’ from civil servants in his 2025 speech to Congress. Here’s what has changed since
The administration has made strides on several of the federal workforce goals that the president laid out in his speech to Congress last year.
Updated
Oversight
‘My dream job has turned into a nightmare’: Ex-feds and public service experts testify to Congress on how to rebuild government post-Trump
Some recommendations that several Democratic lawmakers and advocates brought up included overturning Schedule Policy/Career, restoring collective bargaining rights for the federal workforce and increasing congressional oversight.
Workforce
Trump admin moves to finalize return of Schedule F
Officials estimate that around 50,000 federal workers will be stripped of their civil service protections beginning in around a month, as unions, employee associations and good government groups decry their positions’ politicization.
Workforce
Schedule F won’t fix government’s performance management problems, report finds
The Partnership for Public Service warned that, contrary to proponents’ claims, there is “no evidence” that at-will employment improves employee or agency performance.
Management
‘Harder days ahead in 2026’: Good government group predicts increased political interference in the civil service in Trump’s second year
A new analysis from the Partnership for Public Service looks at the effects, so far, of the Trump administration’s reforms to the federal workforce and what they could portend.
Workforce
Final Schedule F regulations to describe civil service protections as ‘unconstitutional overcorrections’
OPM officials told agency HR leaders Tuesday that President Trump has Article II constitutional authority to remove tens of thousands of career federal workers in jobs over potential “resistance to policy.”
Oversight
NTEU sues OPM for Schedule F records
The federal employee union said the government’s dedicated HR agency ignored an August Freedom of Information Act request pertaining to which positions agencies plan to convert to the controversial new job classification.
Workforce
Virginia lawmaker takes over advocacy for federal workforce bills
Rep. James Walkinshaw this week formally assumed lead sponsorship for a series of bills introduced each year by his predecessor, the late Rep. Gerry, Connolly, D-Va.
Workforce
Most Americans oppose RIFs, but a good-government group says anti-layoff messaging needs to be improved
A Partnership for Public Service researcher said that there needs to be more focus on the consequences of laying off federal employees versus the government workers themselves because “we found through our focus groups that there's not a lot of sympathy for civil servants losing their jobs.”
Workforce
A time machine tour of civil service reform
COMMENTARY | From Washington to Trump, every era has redefined the rules of federal employment. If you could set the clock, which version of the merit system would you choose?
Workforce
Federal workforce advocates flood opposition to renewed Schedule F
With just a day remaining before the deadline to submit comments on the Trump administration’s proposed Schedule F regulations, the vast majority of more than 30,000 submissions were opposed to the measure.
Workforce
Congressional Dems urge rescission of Schedule F regulations
Though the Office of Personnel Management has estimated around 50,000 federal employees, or 2% of the workforce, would be stripped of their civil service protections under the controversial initiative, lawmakers warned a failure to define "policy-related” positions will cause far more to become at-will employees.
Exclusive
Workforce
Connolly demands rescission of regulations reviving Schedule F
The top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee warned that politicization of the federal workforce will lead to more instances of “incompetence” in government.
Workforce
Dudek calls for entire SSA offices to be converted to new Schedule F
The planned conversions, intended for federal workers in policy-related positions, affect employees making as little as $40,000 per year.
Workforce