Trump Finalizes Rule Creating At‑Will 'Policy/Career' Class for About 55,000 Senior Federal Employees
The Trump administration finalized a rule published in the Federal Register on Feb. 6, 2026, that creates an at‑will "policy/career" category covering roughly 55,000 senior federal positions and makes it easier for agencies to remove those employees. OPM Director Scott Kupor said agencies have submitted proposed positions and the White House is reviewing reclassifications, arguing the rule targets employees who insert partisanship or actively undermine the president’s priorities, while career workers at CMS, HUD and State call it politicization and critics tie it to Heritage’s Project 2025.
📌 Key Facts
- OPM says the final rule will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, and will affect approximately 55,000 positions.
- OPM Director Scott Kupor confirms agencies have already submitted proposed positions and the White House is actively reviewing which jobs the president will reclassify.
- Kupor frames the policy as targeting employees whose 'disagreement leads them to then try to actively thwart or undermine' the president’s priorities; White House aide Leavitt says that if staff are not 'working hard on behalf of this president' they are 'not welcome to work for him at all.'
- OPM’s public statement says the rule will help agencies separate employees who 'insert partisanship' or engage in corruption and explicitly links the change to merit principles.
- Career federal workers at CMS, HUD and the State Department describe the rule as politicization; some colleagues joined deferred‑resignation programs last year in anticipation of a Schedule F‑style purge, and critics tie the rule to Heritage’s Project 2025.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
February 06, 2026
12:42 AM
New Trump policy makes thousands of federal workers easier to fire
New information:
- OPM says the final rule will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, and will affect approximately 55,000 positions.
- OPM Director Scott Kupor confirms agencies have already submitted proposed positions and the White House is actively reviewing which jobs the president will reclassify.
- Kupor frames the policy as targeting employees whose 'disagreement leads them to then try to actively thwart or undermine' the president’s priorities, and Leavitt says that if staff are not 'working hard on behalf of this president' they are 'not welcome to work for him at all.'
- Career federal workers at CMS, HUD and the State Department describe the rule as politicization and say some colleagues joined deferred‑resignation programs last year in anticipation of a Schedule F‑style purge.
- OPM’s public statement claims the rule will help agencies separate employees who 'insert partisanship' or engage in corruption, explicitly linking it to merit principles even as critics tie it to Heritage’s Project 2025 blueprint.
February 05, 2026