President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday creating a new classification of federal employees called “Schedule G,” designed to fill what the administration characterizes as a gap in the federal hiring system and expand presidential control over policy-making positions.
The executive order establishes Schedule G as a new category within the federal government’s excepted service for non-career positions with policy-making or policy-advocating responsibilities. These positions are explicitly designed for appointees who would “normally be subject to change as a result of a Presidential transition,” meaning they are expected to leave when the president who appointed them leaves office.
Schedule G differs from existing appointment categories in several key ways:
- Schedule C covers confidential or policy-determining positions
- Schedule Policy/Career (formerly Schedule F) covers career positions with policy roles
- Schedule G fills the previously unaddressed gap for non-career policy-making or policy-advocating positions
Key Features and Requirements
No Senate Confirmation Required: Like Schedule C positions, Schedule G appointments do not require Senate approval, allowing for faster placement of personnel.
Policy Alignment: The order specifically directs agencies to consider whether appointees would be “suitable exponents of the President’s policies” while prohibiting consideration of political affiliation or political activity.
Unlimited Numbers: Unlike the approximately 4,000 total political appointments currently available to presidents, Schedule G appears to have no numerical cap.
Broader Context of Federal Workforce Changes
Schedule G represents the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to reshape the federal workforce:
Schedule Policy/Career: In January 2025, Trump reinstated the classification formerly known as Schedule F, which affects an estimated 50,000 career federal employees by removing their civil service protections.
Workforce Reduction: The administration has pursued large-scale reductions in force (RIFs) across federal agencies, with the Supreme Court recently allowing these efforts to continue.
Performance Management: New policies emphasize removing “poor performers” and “insubordinate” employees more quickly, with shortened performance improvement periods.
The White House argues Schedule G will enhance “government efficiency and accountability” by providing more “horsepower for agency implementation of Administration policy,” while political scientists note that Schedule G continues a pattern of expanding presidential influence over federal agencies. The creation of Schedule G, combined with Schedule Policy/Career, represents a significant shift away from the traditional merit-based civil service system toward more political control.
The move comes amid broader discussions about civil service reform. The U.S. currently has significantly more political appointees than other developed democracies, with around 4,000 positions compared to much smaller numbers in other countries.
Critics argue that expanding political appointments could undermine the expertise-based civil service system established to prevent the return of 19th-century patronage systems.
The Office of Personnel Management must now develop regulations to implement Schedule G, with particular attention to amending existing civil service rules. Agencies can begin making Schedule G appointments immediately, subject to the order’s conditions.
The administration has not disclosed how many positions might be created under Schedule G or provided a timeline for full implementation. Given the order’s broad language covering “policy-making or policy-advocating” roles, the potential scope could be substantial across numerous federal agencies.
