Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
President Donald J. Trump has signed an Executive Order to increase accountability among senior federal leaders who influence policy decisions. The order reclassifies about 8,000 senior policy-influencing positions into Schedule Policy/Career, a category that heightens accountability while maintaining these roles as career positions with non-partisan hiring and competitive status procedures.
The reclassification means employees in these roles become at-will and can be removed for poor performance, misconduct, corruption, or failure to support Presidential directives, without the lengthy procedural hurdles typical in federal employee removals. Removal decisions are intended to be made without regard to political affiliation.
According to the fact sheet, 97% of the reclassified positions are at the GS-15 or Senior Level pay grades, representing the highest career ranks outside the Senior Executive Service. These include agency directors, deputy directors, chiefs of staff, senior advisors, policy analysts, and those engaged in drafting regulations, public affairs, legislative affairs, and making decisions related to federal grants.
The Executive Order aims to address a federal workforce system described as difficult to manage for performance, noting that existing personnel rules make removing employees time-consuming, often taking a year or more due to appeals. This difficulty has created challenges in holding senior policymakers accountable, even in cases of poor performance or opposition to Presidential priorities. The document also notes that during the first Trump administration, some senior federal employees reportedly refused to assist with certain policy matters due to personal disagreements, including issues related to racial discrimination prosecutions and Title IX reform.
The measure intends to fix what is described as a broken system by restoring the ability of elected officials to hold senior career employees accountable for their conduct and performance in line with the administration’s agenda.