Trump signs an executive order creating Schedule F, which strips civil service protections from federal workers in policy-advising roles

President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13957 on October 21, 2020, creating a new employment category called Schedule F that would strip civil service protections from federal workers in policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating roles. The order directed agencies to identify and reclassify employees whose work involved policy influence, making them easier to fire by removing their MSPB appeal rights and just-cause termination protections. Previous administrations had interpreted the statutory language to apply only to a small number of traditionally political positions; Trump's order applied it to an estimated 50,000 career employees. The order came just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, and no employees were actually transferred before Biden revoked it two months later.