Trump Signs Executive Order to Expand Political Appointments Across Federal Agencies

Trump Creates New Federal Employee Category to Expand Presidential Control Over Bureaucracy

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a new class of federal workers called "Schedule G" employees, who will serve as political appointees rather than career civil servants. This move significantly expands presidential authority to hire and fire federal workers, potentially affecting thousands of government positions and fundamentally altering the balance between political leadership and bureaucratic independence.

Schedule G: A New Tool for Presidential Control

The newly created Schedule G classification transforms certain federal positions into political appointments, meaning these employees will lose their jobs when the president who appointed them leaves office. Unlike traditional civil service workers who enjoy job protections, Schedule G employees serve at the pleasure of the administration.

White House spokesman Harrison Fields explained the rationale on social media platform X: "President Trump believes that creating non-professional Schedule G positions will enhance government efficiency and accountability and improve services provided to taxpayers by increasing momentum for agencies to implement administration policy."

Targeting the "Deep State" Narrative

This executive order reflects Trump's longstanding skepticism toward career federal employees, whom he and other Republicans view as part of a "deep state" working against presidential directives. The move represents a systematic approach to what Trump sees as bureaucratic resistance to his policy agenda.

The order builds on Trump's earlier efforts this year to reclassify tens of thousands of federal workers under "Schedule F," which similarly reduced job protections for career civil servants. Schedule G appears to be an extension of this strategy, creating more positions that answer directly to political leadership.

Department of Veterans Affairs in the Crosshairs

The executive order specifically mentions the Department of Veterans Affairs, suggesting this massive agency—which employs over 400,000 people and serves millions of veterans—will be a primary target for the new classification system. The VA has historically been a source of frustration for multiple administrations due to its size, complexity, and resistance to rapid policy changes.

Historical Context and Precedent

The creation of Schedule G represents one of the most significant changes to federal employment structure since the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883, which established merit-based hiring to replace the political patronage system. Trump's approach essentially reverses more than a century of civil service reform aimed at creating a professional, non-partisan federal workforce.

Previous presidents have struggled with similar tensions between political control and bureaucratic independence, but none have attempted such a systematic restructuring of federal employment categories. The Reagan administration made efforts to increase political appointees, but nothing approaching the scope of Trump's Schedule F and Schedule G initiatives.

Implications for Government Operations

This restructuring could have profound effects on government continuity and expertise. Career civil servants typically provide institutional knowledge and policy continuity across administrations, while political appointees drive policy changes aligned with electoral mandates. By expanding the political appointee category, Trump risks creating knowledge gaps and reducing the government's technical expertise in complex policy areas.

The move also raises questions about government efficiency during transition periods, as potentially thousands of employees could be replaced with each change in administration, creating massive disruption and learning curves within federal agencies.