This bill would create a new “Schedule Policy/Career” category within the federal excepted service to house positions that are confidential, policy-making, or policy-advocating and that supposedly do not normally change with a presidential transition. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would be required to list and regulate these positions, and executive agencies would have to review their positions and petition to place certain roles into Schedule Policy/Career. The goal, in its framing, is to give the President and his appointees more reliable control over key policy positions. The bill also attempts to set rules around personnel practices, bargaining rights, and regulatory changes, and would rescind some existing civil-service protections and prior Executive Orders related to federal workforce discipline. Critics are likely to view the bill as a major push to politicize or bypass traditional civil-service protections, while supporters would argue it strengthens executive accountability and staffing flexibility. Key elements aim to: (1) create and populate Schedule Policy/Career, (2) require agency reviews and petitions to move positions into this Schedule, (3) restrict certain personnel practices and require adherence to executive instructions, (4) reverse certain recent civil-service protections and guidance, and (5) set up oversight, bargaining, and regulatory transition steps.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of Schedule Policy/Career in the excepted service for confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating roles not normally subject to presidential-transition changes; agencies must follow veteran preference where feasible when appointing to these positions.
- 2OPM responsibility to create and regulate the Schedule Policy/Career framework, including adopting necessary regulations by early 2029 and guiding a swift transition from current appointment processes.
- 3Agency review process: by specified dates, agency heads must review positions and, for those not already excepted from the competitive service by statute, petition the President to place qualifying positions into Schedule Policy/Career, with a Federal Register publication detailing the determinations. Includes criteria focused on policy development, supervision of attorneys, discretionary authority, involvement with non-public policy deliberations, collective bargaining, and supervision of Schedule Policy/Career staff.
- 4Prohibition of certain personnel practices: agencies must prohibit prohibited personnel practices for Schedule Policy/Career employees and clarify that while these employees are not required to personally support the current administration, they must faithfully implement administration policies; failure to do so could be grounds for dismissal.
- 5Collective bargaining and union status: agencies must seek guidance on whether Schedule Policy/Career positions should be excluded from bargaining units, with consideration given to whether incumbents formulate, determine, or influence agency policies.
- 6Revisions to regulatory framework and rollbacks: the Director is directed to rescind changes from a 2024 civil-service rule to alignment with Schedule Policy/Career goals, and to hold certain CFR provisions inoperative until those rescissions are complete.
- 7Revocation of Executive Order 14003: EO 14003 (Protecting the Federal Workforce) would have no force, with a process to suspend or revise related agency actions and discipline policies as identified in the EO’s provisions.