FASEB Opposes Proposed Changes that Risk Politicization of U.S. Civil Service

By: Yvette Seger
Thursday, June 12, 2025
On June 5, FASEB submitted comments opposing a proposal to reclassify senior policy-influencing roles within the U.S. civil service. This reclassification would allow for easier termination of nonpartisan career staff within the U.S. government if they are deemed resistant to implementing Presidential directives.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service – was reminiscent of comparable efforts during the first Trump administration to reclassify a large swath of the federal workforce, making it easier to eliminate positions or replace individuals with political appointees. Known as “Schedule F,” this first effort was ultimately reversed by the Biden administration.

While the Schedule F proposal relied on the agencies to determine roles to be classified, the current proposal would allow the President to determine the policy-influencing positions to be reclassified as “Schedule Policy/Career.” FASEB noted this was an extreme overreach of executive power, as senior policy-influencing positions must support evidence-based decision making by the agencies rather than partisanship.  

The Office of Personnel Management received nearly 34,000 individual comments on this proposal.