Federal workers will be easier to fire under a new Trump administration move
Critics argue the change brushes aside a law that provided job protections for career employees while limiting at-will employment to political appointees
A February 4, 2025 photo shows the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in Washington, DC. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The Trump administration is gearing up to strip job protections from up to 50,000 federal workers.
The final rule is set to be introduced on Thursday by the Office of Personnel Management, the federal government's human resources arm. It will set up a new category for government workers who are charged with carrying out Trump policies.
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The change will make it easier to fire these career civil service employees, since they wouldn't be able to appeal firings or disciplinary actions to an independent board as has been the longstanding practice.
OPM officials told the Wall Street Journal that the change will apply to senior policymaking positions in the federal government, and it's not intended to set the stage for layoffs. The change applies to a fraction of the 2.3 million workers that make up the federal civil service.
However, the Trump administration carried out a purge of federal workers shortly after assuming power in 2025. Around 317,000 federal workers left the government by the end of 2025, through a mix of firings, resignations, and retirements. Much of that pressure was applied by the Department of Government Efficiencty.
The president signed an executive order early last year that set the policy in motion. It triggered a lawsuit from the Government Accountability Project and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. They argued that the rule brushes aside a law that provided job protections for career employees while limiting at-will employment to political appointees.