Civil Service
Could a new Trump administration push for another federal hiring freeze?
The president-elect's previous experience with a governmentwide 79-day halt to agency hiring could inform his new approach to the federal workforce, if those lessons still apply.
Employee group urges centralized response to increase in doxxing and threats against federal workers
The Department of Justice Gender Equality Network urged department leadership to create a centralized “triage” team to better tackle instances where members of the public doxx or threaten employees online.
OPM issues guidance for agencies to implement anti-Schedule F regulations
The effort to insulate the federal civil service from former President Trump’s plan to replace potentially tens of thousands of career employees in “policy-related” position with loyalists could be short lived if the Republican nominee wins the election next month.
‘Put them in trauma’: Inside a key MAGA leader’s plans for a new Trump agenda
As OMB director, Russell Vought sought to use Trump’s 2020 Schedule F executive order to strip away job protections for nonpartisan government workers.
Facing tight budgets, agencies turn to workforce restrictions to rein in costs
Biden began his presidency seeking to boost the civil service and improve federal hiring. At many agencies, he is ending it by cutting back.
Trump says he’ll move thousands of federal workers out of Washington. Here’s what happened the first time he tried
The Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters moved from the capital to Colorado in 2020, causing an exodus of leadership. If elected, Trump plans to use the same tactic across more of the federal government.
Young people don’t trust the federal government, but will work for it
The Partnership for Public Service suggested that federal agencies could consider partnering with social media influencers to build trust with young people.
Does Trump have the right idea about dismantling the Deep State?
COMMENTARY | "Trump’s diagnosis is correct in part but his reform proposal badly misses the target," writes one observer.
Former executives warn Schedule F poses risk to national security
Even if not maximally pursued initially, experts said the effort to replace nonpartisan workers in policy jobs with political loyalists could make presidential transitions even more precarious.
MSPB to update rules to make operations smoother without a quorum
An interim final rule slated for publication next week updates the Merit Systems Protection Board’s procedures to allow the agency to take more actions without a full slate of political appointees.
Trump calls federal workforce 'crooked,' vows to hold them 'accountable'
In an interview with a right-wing Youtuber, the former president seemingly alluded to reviving Schedule F and other Trump-era policies aimed at making it easier to fire federal employees.
The other time an administration sought a ‘more responsive’ federal workforce
An investigator into the Nixon administration’s civil service abuses says Schedule F shares a lineage with the disgraced former president.
A gender equity group is urging ‘strict and specific’ sexual misconduct reform for the federal workforce
The Department of Justice Gender Equality Network said its employer could serve as a model, following the creation of a sexual misconduct response system at the department last year.
Partnership for Public Service offers an alternative to “burning down” the civil service
The good government group traditionally has taken great pains to avoid partisan politics, but has become more outspoken since former President Trump unveiled Schedule F.
Leaked Project 2025 training videos warn aspiring political appointees of ‘persecution’ by career feds
Though the videos don’t overtly discuss the Trump campaign or the Heritage Foundation-led transition project’s endorsement of Schedule F, conservatives repeatedly stressed the need for more “political control” of agencies.
The importance of inclusivity in government agencies
COMMENTARY | Through small, thoughtful changes in practices, the federal government can create more welcoming environments for all individuals to improve public trust, engagement, and overall performance.
Here's new Democratic VP pick Walz's record on civil service issues
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz previously served in the House of Representatives for a dozen years where he became the top Democrat on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Gen Z is underrepresented in the federal workforce. Here’s how some experts would fix that
People younger than 30 represent 7% of the full-time civil service despite being 20% of the overall U.S. labor force.
Donald Trump wants to reinstate a spoils system in federal government by hiring political loyalists regardless of competence
COMMENTARY | The potential reemergence of Schedule F is not the first time a president has sought to install political loyalists in the federal civil service, but its impact could prove disastrous.
Biden trashes Trump’s civil service plans in press conference
The president described Project 2025 and Schedule F threats to the United States’ democratic system during a press conference Thursday.
