Schedule F Rebrand Attracts Overwhelming Opposition as Comment Period Closes

Thousands of people wrote to express their opposition to the Trump Administration's plans to create a new Schedule Policy/Career category for federal employees, that would strip some 50,000 workers of their civil service protections.

The comment period on the proposal closed on Saturday, June 7, 2025. 

30,266 comments were received overall, with about 23,114 comments from unique users. About 95 percent of the comments were in opposition to the proposal. 

One commenter wrote, “Administrations change frequently over the course of a person's career and creating less job security will push the best and brightest people away from government careers.”

Another stated, “The proposed rule will damage U.S. science and innovation.”

There were scattered comments in support, such as this one. “For too long, unelected career bureaucrats in the federal government have stifled efficiency by undermining the plans and policies of the Chief Executive.”

Creating a New Job Category

The proposal is a rebranding of the so-called “Schedule F” proposal under the first Trump Administration. It creates the new Schedule Policy/Career excepted service category and would move thousands of federal employees who engage in policymaking or policy-influencing roles from the competitive service into the expected service.

Those designated as Schedule Policy/Career would become at-will employees. That means they lose standard competitive service rights to challenge disciplinary actions and also lose union representation and grievance rights.  

The notice also repeats projections from the first Trump Administration that some 50,000 positions are likely to be impacted, with some 5,000 of those positions currently vacant. Federal employee groups say the actual number could be much higher. 

Meanwhile, 27 Democrats in Congress sent a letter to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) opposing the move. 

“Removing these protections will make civil servants at-will employees and more susceptible to political pressures. Coupled with the Trump Administration’s efforts to relocate and terminate wide swaths of the federal workforce, Schedule Policy/Career reclassifications will negatively affect recruitment and retention efforts for federal workers,” wrote the group. 

Now that the comment period is over, the regulations will be finalized. Once a final rule is issued, the President must issue an executive order finalizing the conversation of positions into the new job category.