Whistleblower networks document Hatch Act and ethics violations

By Mar. 15, 2025, EPA scientists, DOJ attorneys and State Department diplomats had formed underground networks to document constitutional violations, leak documents exposing illegal orders and refuse to implement policies they considered unconstitutional (Washington Post federal resistance; Federal worker resistance patterns).

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20, 2025, reviving the “Schedule F” classification and reclassifying tens of thousands of career civil service employees to strip them of traditional job protections and make them easier to fire (Reuters Schedule F revival; Reuters Schedule F implementation).

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management published a proposed rule allowing agencies to fast-track firing of employees for conduct including leaking sensitive information, tax evasion and refusing to testify in other workers’ disciplinary cases (Reuters firing rule changes).

Tom Jones’s American Accountability Foundation received a $100,000 grant from the Heritage Foundation to compile and publish Project Sovereignty 2025, a list of 100 federal employees suspected of resisting Trump administration policies (AP Heritage grant investigation; AP Project Sovereignty details).