President Donald Trump has signed an executive order creating a new classification of non-career federal employees called Schedule G workers to help him with his political and policy priorities.
Schedule G employees will be non-career workers who will be expected to depart the federal government at the conclusion of the term of the president who appointed them, according to the order Trump signed on Thursday.
However, in line, with Trump’s approach to federal government hiring during his second administration, an emphasis will be placed on loyalty, with the classification providing another opportunity for the president to recruit people who align with his political and policy agenda.
“The Congress has recognized that effective Government administration requires excepting some positions from the competitive service based on their confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character,” the order states. “There is, however, no excepted service schedule for noncareer positions of a policy-making or policy-advocating character.”
The executive order comes after similar executive action during January reforming federal government rules for policy-career employees, who were formerly referred to as “Schedule F” workers. That action started the process of the White House Office of Personnel Management last month turning those policy-career employees into “at will” workers, stripping them of their previous protections.
“This rule empowers federal agencies to swiftly remove employees in policy-influencing roles for poor performance, misconduct, corruption, or subversion of Presidential directives, without lengthy procedural hurdles,” the White House wrote at the time. “These employees will keep their competitive status and are not required to personally or politically support the President, but must faithfully implement the law and the administration’s policies.”
White House spokesman Harrison Fields underscored Thursday’s executive order, contending that “Schedule G” employees “will better serve Americans’ needs by focusing on implementing Administration policies.”
“President Trump believes creating non-career Schedule G positions will enhance government efficiency and accountability and improve services provided to taxpayers by increasing the horsepower for agency implementation of Administration policy,” Fields wrote on social media.
Trump has placed a premium on loyalty during his second administration after his first was allegedly undermined by policy-career employees, whom the president has condemned as the Deep State, amid fights for power among his top political advisers.