Trump Reinstates Schedule F to Restructure Federal Workforce

According to BlockBeats, U.S. President Donald Trump is reinstating the "Schedule F" initiative to streamline the process of dismissing federal employees. This plan aims to reclassify approximately 50,000 policy-related federal positions, representing 2% of the workforce, as "at-will" employment. This move is expected to weaken the protections traditionally afforded to U.S. civil servants, making it easier for the government to dismiss employees deemed "disloyal." The traditional U.S. federal civil service system provides job protection, preventing dismissals based on political reasons. By converting policy-making positions to "at-will" status, the Schedule F initiative challenges the 140-year-old Pendleton Act, which established the principle of a politically neutral civil service. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has instructed agencies to submit restructuring proposals by April 20. Critics argue that this action by the Trump administration could lead to a "political purge" within the government, undermining the professional civil service system. President Joe Biden had previously abolished this policy upon taking office, but Trump reinstated it through an executive order on his first day back in the White House.