New Trump Administration Rule to Streamline Federal Workforce

The Trump administration is advancing a transformative rule that will reclassify certain federal employees as “at-will,” making it easier to dismiss those who underperform or obstruct government policies. This rule is moving towards implementation with the closure of its 30-day public comment period on May 23.

Details of the Proposed Change

Once the comment period concludes, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will evaluate public feedback and decide whether to modify or enact the rule as proposed. This decision could occur in the coming weeks or months, according to Vincent Vernuccio, former Department of Labor official and current president of the Institute for the American Worker. “You’re talking about 50,000 federal employees—about 2% of the workforce who will become ‘at will’,” Vernuccio explained.

He emphasized that these employees would still retain their career status and protections. However, if they are in roles that influence policy and fail to execute their duties or actively impede policy, they could be terminated. “These are still career employees. They still have protections. It’s just that if they are in a policy-influencing position, they’re ‘at will’, and they can be removed if they’re throwing sand in gears of policy,” Vernuccio stated.

President Trump’s Stance on Federal Employee Accountability

President Trump has been a staunch advocate for holding federal employees to the highest standards, especially those involved in policy-making. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order targeting these workers. “If these government workers refuse to advance the policy interests of the president, or are engaging in corrupt behavior, they should no longer have a job,” President Trump has asserted.

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The rule, previously known as Schedule F, aims to empower federal agencies to promptly remove employees in policy-influencing roles for reasons such as poor performance, misconduct, corruption, or subversion of presidential directives, bypassing the often lengthy and complicated traditional procedures.

Exclusions and State-Level Precedents

It’s important to note that certain federal employees, including those enforcing the law like Border Patrol agents or wage and hour inspectors, are excluded from this rule. The proposal highlights that “decades of experience” have demonstrated the difficulty agencies face in holding employees accountable under the current system, which is bogged down by time-consuming processes and uncertain outcomes in appeals.

Several states, including Georgia, Kansas, Arizona, Texas, Utah, and Florida, have already moved many public workers to at-will employment. These changes have reportedly increased accountability and flexibility in these states, without leading to political favoritism, showing a potential positive outlook for this federal rule.

This initiative by the Trump administration is seen as a crucial step towards enhancing the efficiency and accountability of the federal workforce, ensuring that employees align with the administration’s policy goals and uphold the highest standards of conduct and performance.