President Trump signed an executive order reclassifying roughly 8,000 senior federal positions as Schedule Policy/Career, a designation intended to make it faster to discipline or remove policy-influencing career officials. The White House says about 97% of affected roles are GS-15 or Senior Level, and that employees will remain career staff but face quicker removal for poor performance, misconduct or failure to follow lawful directives. The order is part of a broader push to reshape the federal workforce; unions and employee groups have raised concerns and pursued legal challenges.
Trump Signs Order Reclassifying About 8,000 Senior Policy Officials to Ease Removals
Trump Drops The Hammer On Federal Bureaucrats With Latest Workforce Reform Order— 8,000 Jobs Face New Rules
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that reclassifies roughly 8,000 senior federal positions as Schedule Policy/Career, a move the administration says will make it easier to discipline or remove career officials who play a central role in shaping government policy.
What the Order Does
The new Schedule Policy/Career designation covers employees who help develop, direct or advocate administration policies, including those who substantially influence regulations, guidance, grant decisions and other agency actions. The White House estimates about 8,000 positions will be reclassified — far fewer than earlier estimates that suggested up to 50,000 workers might ultimately be included under broader workforce reforms.
Administration Rationale
Administration officials, speaking at the White House signing event, said existing civil-service protections can make it difficult to discipline or remove senior career officials who occupy policy-influencing roles. They argued the change will increase accountability and allow agencies to address poor performance or refusal to follow lawful directives more swiftly.
James Sherk of the Domestic Policy Council said agencies have long faced challenges removing employees in policy-influencing roles and that the order will help them respond faster to misconduct or persistent poor performance.
Who Is Affected
According to the White House, about 97% of positions covered by the order are GS-15 or Senior Level roles — among the highest-ranking career positions outside the Senior Executive Service. Officials emphasized that employees placed in Schedule Policy/Career remain career federal staff but can be removed more quickly for poor performance, misconduct, corruption or failure to carry out presidential directives.
Broader Workforce Context
The executive order is the latest step in the administration’s broader effort to reshape the federal workforce and expand agency accountability. Earlier proposals this year included shifting oversight of some federal layoff appeals from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM); the administration said that change would streamline reviews, while unions warned it could weaken independent oversight.
Those workforce changes, along with agency-level headcount reductions pursued this year, have prompted legal challenges and pushback from unions and employee groups. The White House has maintained that the reforms are intended to reduce bureaucracy and improve government efficiency.
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