The Great Federal Purge: How America's Civil Service Is Being Rewritten

So, you know how every workplace has rules about how people can be fired? Well, this week the federal government essentially said, "Not anymore!" for thousands of employees, as part of a sweeping transformation of how our government functions. Let's go straight into what might be the most consequential bureaucratic reshuffling you've never heard of, and why it matters more than you think.

As usual, there are links to all the news covered, below, in the Timeline , and all the executive actions are at "Executive Orders • Proclamations • Other Documents".

The Main Event: "Schedule Policy/Career" and the End of Civil Service as We Know It

The Trump administration has unveiled a major overhaul of federal employment, creating a new classification called "Schedule Policy/Career" for approximately 50,000 federal employees in policy-influencing positions (about 2% of the workforce). The key change? These employees will now serve "at-will," without access to the traditional procedures or appeals that protected their jobs.

TL;DR: These workers can be fired without the lengthy processes that previously made dismissals difficult. The administration argues this will allow agencies to "swiftly remove employees" for poor performance, misconduct, or "subversion of Presidential directives."

While these will remain career positions filled through nonpartisan, merit-based hiring processes, the removal of job protections fundamentally changes their nature. The administration insists employees aren't required to "personally or politically support the President" but must "faithfully implement the law and the administration's policies."

Of course, the administration frames this as "fixing a broken system" of unaccountable bureaucrats. They cite surveys showing few federal managers believe they could dismiss subordinates for misconduct or poor performance, and claim the current system allows corruption to "fester" in agencies.

But here's what's not being emphasized: This executive order is essentially a revamp of the controversial "Schedule F" that President Trump implemented in his first term, which President Biden later revoked. The new order achieves similar goals: making it easier to remove career federal employees in policy roles.

The Bigger Picture: A Government Transformed

This executive order doesn't exist in isolation. Let's look at what else has been happening in just the past week:

Mass Agency Restructuring

The Trump administration has drafted plans for a drastic overhaul of the State Department, including eliminating Africa operations and shutting down embassies and consulates across the continent. Multiple federal agencies are facing similar fates:

• AmeriCorps has seen nearly 75% of its full-time employees placed on administrative leave as part of cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team.
• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been gutted, with nearly 1,400 employees terminated and only around 200 remaining (though hope may yet remain thanks to a last-minute stay from a Federal court).
• The Trump administration has proposed eliminating $307 million in funding for the USGS's Ecosystems Mission Area, which conducts research on conservation, climate change, and wildlife management.
• The White House plans to submit a formal request to Congress to rescind $9.3 billion in funding for foreign aid initiatives, public broadcasting, and other programs.
• A Trump administration internal document reveals plans to cut roughly a third of the federal health budget, eliminating dozens of programs and consolidating health agencies into a new entity called the "Administration for a Healthy America."

Immigration Enforcement Escalation

The Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to reject an emergency request by the ACLU to pause deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. Meanwhile, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele plans to double the capacity of the Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison that currently holds around 15,000 people, including hundreds of alleged gang members deported from the US.

An Indonesian student, Aditya Wahyu Harsono, was detained by federal agents at his hospital workplace in Minnesota after his US student visa was secretly revoked. In Florida, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen, Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, was held in the Leon County Jail for 48 hours after being charged with illegally entering Florida as an "unauthorized alien" under the state's new anti-immigration law.

Academic and Media Pressure

The Trump administration has frozen $2.2 billion in federal grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University after the school rejected demands for policy changes, including eliminating diversity programs. Harvard President Alan M. Garber stated that the university will not surrender its independence or constitutional rights.

The White House has ended its regular reporting slot for three independent newswires, including The Associated Press, Bloomberg News, and Reuters, in an effort to exert more control over the press corps. The Department of Justice has sent intimidating letters to medical journals, suggesting they are "partisan" and spreading misinformation.

Economic Volatility

China has suspended exports of critical rare earth minerals and magnets, essential for the production of cars, semiconductors, and aerospace industries, in retaliation for President Trump's sharp increase in tariffs. The move threatens to disrupt global supply chains and could have significant effects on US companies that rely on these materials.

The US dollar has been experiencing a significant decline in value, plummeting from 0.97 euros per dollar to 0.88 euros, due to investors selling large amounts of US bonds and other assets. This unusual trend, known as "capital flight," is causing concern as it weakens demand for the dollar and leads to higher interest rates on US Treasury bonds.

Project 2025 Connections

Many of these actions align closely with recommendations from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for conservative governance. The civil service reclassification in particular mirrors Project 2025's calls for expanding presidential control over the bureaucracy.

The document's push for dismantling "diversity" programs (as seen in Reuters' parent company dropping "diversity" for "belonging"), the aggressive deportation strategies, and the substantial cuts to regulatory and scientific agencies all follow Project 2025's vision of a reduced federal government with expanded executive authority.

The Implications: Democracy or Autocracy?

The administration claims unaccountable bureaucracy "undermines democracy" and that for government to be accountable to the American people, elected officials must be able to hold career employees accountable. But critics would argue that a politically loyal civil service answerable primarily to the President, rather than to laws and established procedures, potentially threatens core democratic principles.

What we're witnessing is a fundamental restructuring of how the federal government operates. By removing job protections from policy-influencing positions, defunding agencies, pressuring academic institutions, and implementing aggressive immigration policies, the administration is exercising unprecedented executive control over formerly independent institutions.

The question isn't whether government needs reform—it's whether these changes strengthen democratic accountability or consolidate power in ways that undermine the checks and balances our system was designed to maintain.

Widespread protests across the country suggest many Americans are concerned. Thousands of protesters demonstrated against President Trump's policies on Saturday, denouncing his aggressive immigration policies, budget cuts, and handling of conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. The rallies expressed concern that Trump was threatening democracy and the ideals held by the United States.

As these changes accelerate, Americans would do well to pay attention not just to the headline-grabbing controversies, but to the structural transformations that could permanently alter how our government functions—and for whom.

Why it matters

• Governance capacity: simultaneous hiring freeze, buyouts, and Schedule Policy/Career turnover create knowledge gaps just as agencies face climate extremes, cyber threats, and public‑health duties.
• Checks & balances: courts can enjoin deportations, but an at‑will bureaucracy may simply ignore judges—already foreshadowed in contempt disputes.
• Economic knock‑ons: from higher mortgage costs to rare‑earth shortages, each executive volley shows up quickly in consumer prices or supply chains.
• Precedent: future presidents—of either party—inherit an executive branch structurally tilted toward unilateral power.

What to watch next

• OPM comment window on Schedule Policy/Career closes in 30 days; labor groups plan to flood the docket.
• State‑Dept reorg order could drop alongside FY‑26 budget—expect lawsuits and whistle‑blower leaks.
• Courts vs. deportations: the Supreme Court’s stay is temporary; if lifted, flights may resume within 72 hours.
• Congressional appropriations season: NOAA, AmeriCorps, and CFPB supporters hunt for bipartisan amendments; watch markup week in late May.
• Golden Dome contract award due by early summer—if SpaceX wins, expect a fresh fight over Musk’s conflicts and Pentagon secrecy.