Nonpartisan civil servants, who make up a majority of our federal government and serve regardless of presidential administrations, are the first line of defense in upholding our system of checks and balances.
In the first hours of his second administration, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) that could pave the way for him to fire thousands of these career civil servants and replace them with loyalists.
This latest order is a revival of his original creation of Schedule F — an executive order issued by Trump at the end of his first term that created a new classification for civil servants.
Under these orders, Trump could reclassify thousands of nonpartisan federal positions and essentially strip workers in those roles of their employment protections.
While then-President Joe Biden promptly reversed Schedule F upon assuming office, Trump’s reintroduction of the order is now threatening thousands of nonpartisan civil service roles.
This time around, Trump went further by issuing an additional EO that would allow the president to remove career senior executive service (SES) officials — highly ranked nonpartisan officials — from their positions if they are inefficient or negligent in implementing the president’s policy priorities.
Despite introducing new employment requirements, this additional EO alarmingly fails to define what “inefficient” and “negligent” implementation looks like. Consequently, Trump has tried to make it easier than ever to fire some of the top ranking nonpartisan federal employees in our government at his whim.
SES officials are not individuals who are appointed with each new administration; they traditionally spend years — sometimes their entire career — in government across various administrations.
Reviving Schedule F and further targeting high ranking civil servants endangers the nonpartisan functions of our government. By putting career federal employees at risk of the president’s political whims and making it easier for him to replace them with political loyalists, Trump stands to further consolidate power and erode public trust in our institutions.
Biden took several actions immediately after taking office in 2021 to undo Trump’s 2020 order and protect nonpartisan federal workers, such as immediately rescinding the original order and issuing a new federal rule that clarified and reinforced longstanding nonpartisan protections and due process procedures for federal employees.
Despite Trump’s quick action to undo Biden’s protections — he has already directed the Office of Personnel Management to rescind the former administration’s federal rule — our system of checks and balances works to ensure that Trump cannot unilaterally exercise his will when it comes to employment protections.
Per the Biden administration’s rule, future administrations must explain how a new policy aligns with Congress’ goal behind the current civil service protections.
Future administrations must also provide their reason for changing current policies and ensure that the federal workforce will remain qualified and retain procedural protections.
The first Trump administration tested our democracy. The second one threatens to dismantle it. As Campaign Legal Center (CLC) President Trevor Potter wrote for U.S. News and World Report, “Maintaining a professional, nonpartisan civil service will be our first line of defense in upholding the system of checks and balances that places our future in the hands of the people — not in any political party or president alone.”
CLC remains dedicated to holding the Trump administration accountable and ensuring that proper procedures are followed before the law governing the nonpartisan civil service workforce is changed. Check out what we are watching out for in the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency here.