President Trump could more easily fire workers under proposed rule

A proposed rule will make it easier for President Donald Trump's administration to fire workers.

The April 18 proposal would revise civil service regulations by reclassifying some employees in policy-related roles, stripping them of protections from being fired. Trump took similar action near the end of his first term, but Joe Biden revoked the order after taking office.

"If these government workers refuse to advance the policy interests of the President, or are engaging in corrupt behavior, they should no longer have a job," Trump said April 18 on Truth Social. "This is common sense, and will allow the federal government to finally be 'run like a business.' We must root out corruption and implement accountability in our Federal Workforce!"

About 50,000 positions will be reclassified and moved into the Schedule Policy/Career category, approximately 2% of the federal workforce, a White House fact sheet said. (Trump had previously labeled these jobs "Schedule F.") Certain employees are exempt, including border patrol agents.

The federal government has shed more than double that amount in Trump's first three months in office. The New York Times confirmed at least 56,230 cuts through April 14, though some had been ordered for reinstatement. About 76,100 employees took buyouts. More cuts are expected, affecting about 12% of the 2.4 million civilian workforce, the Times reported.

The Office of Personnel Management's proposed rule is in line with Trump's Jan. 20 executive order that reinstated his first-term effort to more easily fire  employees. Federal employee unions' lawsuits challenging Trump's order are pending.

The proposed rule doesn't directly move positions into the new classification — that will be done by a subsequent executive order after a final rule.

The proposed rule change is subject to a 30-day public comment period, said Joe Spielberger, Project on Government Oversight senior policy counsel. Depending on how many written comments are received and how quickly the administration wants to act, it could still take a couple of months to become reality.

Trump's promise is one of 75 Trump campaign promises PolitiFact is tracking on the MAGA-Meter. Over the next four years, we will periodically evaluate the administration's progress on Trump's 2024 campaign promises, just as we did with Barack Obama, Trump during his first term and Joe Biden. 

The final outcome of Trump's promise to remove workers through Schedule F is not yet known. We rate this promise In the Works.

RELATED: Yes, Bill Clinton offered mass federal employee buyouts. Here's why Trump's program is different.