Trump sued over 'Schedule F' order targeting federal employees

A federal employee union has sued over an executive order from President Trump creating a new class of federal employee — allowing those working on policy to be swiftly hired and fired like political appointees.

The Monday order reignites an idea rolled out in the waning days of Trump’s first term in office, creating a class of employee — Schedule F — who can be hired outside the traditional merit-based system for bureaucrats, raising fears of politicization of the workforce.

“Congress has enacted comprehensive legislation governing the hiring and employment of federal employees," the
National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) wrote in a suit filed late Monday. "When establishing hiring principles, Congress determined that most federal government jobs be in the merit-based, competitive service. And it established that most federal employees have due process rights if their agency employer wants to remove them from employment.”

“Because the Policy/Career Executive Order attempts to divest federal employees of these due process rights, it is contrary to congressional intent,” it added.

The order from Trump complained that accountability among federal employees is currently “sorely lacking.”

“These personnel are entrusted to shape and implement actions that have a significant impact on all Americans. Any power they have is delegated by the President, and they must be accountable to the President,” the order states.

Federal workers see Schedule F as a way to insert politics into government actions, a move that could both reward Trump allies and politicize government decision-making while allowing swift firing of career bureaucrats.

Agencies across government are headed by political appointees tapped by the president, but the bulk of work is carried out by nonpartisan staffers hired for their expertise. Trump allies, however, previously envisioned a massive expansion of the number of political positions, jumping from roughly 4,000 currently to about 50,000.

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