It's unclear if a new executive order alone could bring back a Schedule F while rules put in place by Biden to block it remain on the books, even if suspended. Image: Orhan Cam/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOne issue that has attracted a high level of attention is the prospect of the return of Schedule F, an excepted service category that the first Trump administration created by an executive order late in 2020.
That could remove an estimated 50,000—and potentially many more—employees involved with advising on, drafting and carrying out policy matters from the competitive service, removing union protections and many other rights and allowing the positions to be filled without competition.
The Biden administration not only revoked that order but also later put in place rules essentially preventing such positions from being converted to the excepted service and also guaranteeing continued civil service rights for employees in other types of positions that are converted.
The exact course ahead in light of those rules is still uncertain. The new Trump administration could suspend those rules but there are questions regarding whether a new executive order alone could bring back a Schedule F while they remain on the books. Going through the process of issuing new rules to the opposite effect of the current ones could consume many months.
Also, GAO has reported that agencies made little progress during the several months the original order was in place toward identifying positions that could be subject to such conversions. A new initiative likely would again require such studies, which themselves could take months.
An early sign may come with the upcoming confirmation hearings for Russell Vought, who was OMB director late in the first Trump term, to return to that position. He is potentially in line to be confirmed at the committee level as soon as next week, and possibly soon afterward by the full Senate.
OMB was one of the few agencies that did conduct such an inventory, identifying the majority of its employees as subject to Schedule F. OMB however is an exceptional agency in that its work is highly concentrated on policy making and implementation.
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