Trump signs Schedule F order to reclassify policy-role federal workers for easier firing

President Trump signed Executive Order 13957 creating a new category of federal employment called Schedule F, covering workers in positions that involve policymaking, policy advocacy, or policy implementation. Employees reclassified into Schedule F would lose most civil service job protections and could be removed far more easily than career civil servants. The Office of Personnel Management estimated that tens of thousands of positions across science agencies, regulatory bodies, and research-intensive departments could qualify for reclassification. Economists at the Congressional Budget Office, scientists at the CDC, statisticians at the Census Bureau, and analysts across dozens of agencies faced potential reclassification. President Biden revoked the order in January 2021, but President Trump reinstated it on his first day back in office in January 2025, making it a centerpiece of his second administration's approach to the federal expert workforce. The order directly threatened the professional independence of the scientists and researchers that federal agencies rely on to produce impartial analysis.