Trump strips job protections from 8,000 federal workers

President Trump talks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America hide caption

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President Trump has issued an executive order turning an estimated 8,000 federal workers into at-will employees, which means the government could fire them without providing any reason.

The move culminates an effort Trump launched during his first term to strip vast numbers of federal employees of civil service protections designed to insulate their work from political interference.

Nearly all of the 8,000 people affected are at the highest level of the civil service, known as GS-15. The Trump administration characterizes the roles as senior positions with significant influence over policy. They include leaders of policy offices and their chiefs of staff, heads of regional offices, program managers, senior public affairs officers and those overseeing spending and grants.

The number of positions affected by Wednesday's executive order is smaller than many anticipated. Originally, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) estimated some 50,000 positions could be reclassified. The administration has not ruled out expanding the pool at a later time.

The federal government currently has about 4,000 political appointees who serve at the pleasure of the president. Until now, the rest of the workforce of approximately 2 million people could only be fired for certain reasons, such as inadequate performance or misconduct. In those situations, agencies must follow formal processes, including giving the employee an opportunity to appeal.

But in February, the administration finalized a rule creating a new category of at-will employees called Schedule Policy/Career. (During Trump's first term, it was known as Schedule F.)