OPM strips civil service protections from 50,000 federal workers
50,000 career federal workers lose job protections under new OPM rule
OPM Director Scott Kupor announced the final rule on Feb. 5, 2026. It creates a new job classification called "Schedule Policy/Career" for federal employees whose work involves policy. About 50,000 workers, roughly 2% of the federal workforce, will be affected.
Key Concepts
Essential concepts and terms to understand this topic
Civil Service Protections
Legal protections preventing career federal employees from being fired for political reasons.
Federalism and State Power
The constitutional system that divides power between national and state governments, determining who controls immigration, healthcare, voting, and other major policies.
Administrative Procedure Act
1946 law governing how federal agencies develop regulations and make decisions through rulemaking and adjudication.
Informal Executive Power
Policy influence exercised by unelected White House staff through control of information, meetings, and access to the President.
Procedural Due Process
Fair procedures that government must follow—notice, hearing, neutral decision-maker—before taking someone's life, liberty, or property.
Federalism
Power is divided between the federal government and state governments, each exercising authority in designated areas.
Key People
7Scott Kupor
Director, Office of Personnel Management
Kupor finalized the Schedule Policy/Career rule on Feb. 5, 2026. He told reporters the rule is about accountability, not political loyalty, saying it "explicitly prohibits political patronage, loyalty tests, or political discrimination."
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Trump first proposed Schedule F in October 2020 and revived it on his first day back in office. He posted on Truth Social that federal workers who "refuse to advance the policy interests of the President" should lose their jobs. He will personally decide which positions get reclassified.
Everett Kelley
President, American Federation of Government Employees
Kelley called the rule a "direct assault" on the merit-based civil service. AFGE represents over 750,000 federal workers and is expected to be part of legal challenges to the rule.
Skye Perryman
President and CEO, Democracy Forward
Perryman leads the legal challenge against Schedule Policy/Career. She said the administration is trying to "do through regulation what the law does not allow" and vowed to "use every legal tool available."
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Noah Peters
Senior Advisor to the OPM Director
Peters briefed over 200 agency HR leaders on the rule. He argued that the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 gave the president authority to exempt policy-related positions from standard civil service protections.
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Doreen Greenwald
National President, National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)
Greenwald led NTEU's opposition to the rule, submitting comments arguing it "jeopardizes the merit system that undergirds the entire federal civil service." NTEU filed a lawsuit to block Schedule Policy/Career and warned the rule enables prohibited personnel practices, political coercion, and nepotistic hiring.
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Paul Dans
Project 2025 Director (2022-2024)
Paul Dans served as Project 2025 Director from 2022 to July 2024, leading the Heritage Foundation's personnel vetting operation. He was former OPM Chief of Staff who built the 20,000-candidate database using loyalty questionnaires. The Project 2025 policy blueprint explicitly called for implementing Schedule F to replace career civil servants with political appointees. Dans' 927-page document recommends reclassifying up to 500,000 federal jobs to expand executive control over the bureaucracy. He stepped down in July 2024 amid intense scrutiny.
Claims & Perspectives
Misleading
Misleading
OPM says Schedule Policy/Career "preserves merit-based hiring, veterans' preference, and whistleblower protections."
The rule does keep the merit-based hiring process for new hires into these positions. But it fundamentally weakens job protections once someone is hired. Workers lose the right to appeal firings to the independent Merit Systems Protection Board. Whistleblower complaints now go through the agency's own general counsel, who is a political appointee, not the independent Office of Special Counsel [1]. AFGE president Everett Kelley called this "silencing whistleblowers" [2].
Disputed
Disputed
Scott Kupor says the rule "explicitly prohibits political patronage, loyalty tests, or political discrimination."
The rule text does include language prohibiting patronage. But critics argue the structure makes enforcement of that prohibition nearly impossible. When workers can be fired at will and must report abuse to a political appointee within their own agency, the practical effect is that political loyalty becomes a factor in job security even if the rule says otherwise [1]. The DOJ already fired career lawyers who worked on Trump investigations, a pattern critics say Schedule Policy/Career would expand [2].
Disputed
OPM's Noah Peters says Congress delegated authority to exempt policy positions from civil service rules in the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act.
The CSRA does include an exemption for positions "of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character" (5 U.S.C. 7511). But most civil service experts agree that language was intended to apply to political appointees, not career federal workers [1]. No previous administration interpreted the provision to cover 50,000 career employees. Courts will ultimately decide whether this interpretation holds.
True
True
The government has spent 3% more on federal salaries under Trump than during the same period under Biden.
A Reuters analysis of Treasury Department data found the government spent close to $244 billion on federal salaries since Trump returned to the White House. That's 3% more than during the same period under Biden [1]. The finding complicates the administration's framing of the rule as a cost-saving measure.
What you can do
Contact your senators and representative about Schedule Policy/Career
civic action
Congress can vote to reject the new OPM rule using a Congressional Review Act resolution. Your elected officials need to hear whether you support or oppose stripping civil service protections from 50,000 federal workers.
Track the Democracy Forward lawsuit challenging the rule
awareness
Democracy Forward and federal worker unions have an existing lawsuit that was paused during rulemaking. It will resume now that the rule is final. Court rulings could block or delay implementation.
Submit public comments on future implementation actions
civic action
After the 30-day effective period, Trump will issue an executive order designating specific positions. Additional rulemaking or guidance may follow, creating more opportunities for public input.
Support federal employee unions fighting the rule
civic action
AFGE and NTEU are leading legal challenges and advocacy efforts against Schedule Policy/Career. You can support their work by donating, signing petitions, or amplifying their messaging on social media to pressure Congress to use the Congressional Review Act.
Check if your federal employee family members or friends are affected
awareness
If you know federal employees who work on policy—drafting regulations, advising leadership, editing policy documents—they may be reclassified as at-will workers. FedSupport Hub provides resources to help federal workers understand their rights and options under the new rule.