Trump Executive Order Creates New Federal Workforce Category (1)

President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing a new class of political appointees to carry out his agenda across the government.

The new positions will carry few career civil service protections, and will be “based on their confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character,” Trump said in the order.

It’s the latest administration effort to consolidate government work under Trump’s direct control, without the traditional degrees of separation to protect nonpartisan work. The move is likely to draw fire from Democrats and other Trump opponents, who have accused him of eroding the civil service ranks to consolidate power among loyalists.

The new classification, Schedule G, would create a category of fully political federal workers—appointed by the president—expected to come and go with each administration. It would apply to workers who engage in policymaking and advocacy who “will be hired to help faithfully implement the President’s policy agenda,” the White House said in a fact sheet.

The new category “facilitates appointments of non-career federal employees who will serve temporarily and implement the policy agenda prescribed by the American people through our elections,” the White House said. “This will improve operations, particularly in agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, by streamlining appointments for key policy roles.”

Trump has already revived a 2020 executive order that makes it easier to fire career government employees by establishing a new employment classification, known as Schedule F, which lacks the civil service protections afforded to many other government positions.

The Supreme Court recently granted Trump permission to continue with mass layoffs while a legal challenge proceeds. He has also asserted his authority to fire heads of independent agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board, and increased scrutiny of their rulemaking processes.