Federal Employment 2.0: The Destruction of the Federal Workforce

Everything Trump touches either dies, goes bankrupt, or is corrupted to the core. Whether Trump Steaks, Trump Airlines, Trump University, Trump Bitcoin, Trump Magazine, Trump NFTs, Trump Phones, Trump sneakers, or the US Government and its workforce, makes no difference. The situation affecting the federal workforce is indisputably unprecedented, though predicted in great detail.

The Background

Before Trump

The U.S. federal workforce has long been the global benchmark for civil service, a model that other countries have aspired to emulate. However, this era is drawing to a close as the Trump administration aims to intentionally revert the U.S. federal workforce to the pre-Pendleton Act era, characterized by political patronage and the inherent inefficiencies and corruption that accompany it. These circumstances will have a direct and adverse impact on the delivery of government services. If not already, soon the U.S. taxpayers will feel the effects in this regard.

The World Bank tracks the U.S. civil service's global performance in policy implementation and political independence. Prior to Trump's first term, the U.S. federal workforce reached a peak of 1.93 on a -2.5 to 2.5 scale, according to the World Bank. In early 2025, after Trump took office and began dismantling the workforce, the index dropped to 1.36 points, marking a historical low for the United States. Despite still ranking significantly higher than the global average of 0.05, the U.S. lost ground to peer nations like Singapore, Norway, and South Korea in terms of service quality and administrative independence. The federal workforce rating is expected to decline significantly in 2026 and 2027. The Blavatnik Index of Public Administration, which also tracks government workforce effectiveness, is expected to issue a rating in late 2026 that will represent one of the most significant drops in U.S. history.

Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS)

After the comparatively minor damage of Trump's first term, compared to his second term, the Biden era saw record-breaking FEVS ratings. The 2024 FEVS notably reached an unprecedented engagement score of 73%. During this time, federal workers reported the highest levels of satisfaction with their supervisors (81%) and agency missions in the survey's history. The federal workforce recovered from the damage inflicted by Trump during his first term. However, recent data from the 2025 Public Service Viewpoint Survey indicates a catastrophic decline. The government-wide engagement and satisfaction index fell to 32 out of 100, the lowest since data collection began. This change is attributed to the chaos caused by Trump's second term and the direct negative impact of Elon Musk's DOGE.

Recap of Key Executive Orders and Policy Shifts

The adverse and titanic transformation began on January 20, 2025, with a flurry of executive actions designed to reform the civil service, reduce the size of government, and specifically harm federal employees:

• Executive Order 14148 (Initial Rescissions): This order immediately rescinded 78 of the previous administration's executive orders and memoranda.

• Executive Order 14151 (Ending DEI Programs): Formally ended all government "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) programs, characterizing them as wasteful and non-merit based.

• Executive Order 14251 & 14343 (Labor Relations Exclusions): These orders excluded numerous agencies and subdivisions from collective bargaining under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute. Some even erroneously cited grounds of national security.

• Schedule Policy/Career (formerly Schedule F): Created a new excepted service classification for "confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating" roles. OPM estimated that approximately 50,000 federal employees would be impacted by this reclassification.

• Return-to-Office Directive: A first-day directive required executive agencies to terminate most remote work arrangements and transition to full-time in-person work. This has led to mandatory annual reevaluations of existing telework accommodations.

The Departmental Reorganization Plan (DRP) and DOGE: The Outright Destruction of the Federal Workforce

The Departmental Reorganization Plan (DRP) laid the groundwork for the structural downsizing that unfolded throughout 2025. This plan was implemented in collaboration with the "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)," which was not an official government department. DOGE deployed "Team Leads" to each agency to identify redundancies and assess real property for disposal. These "Team Leads" were usually quite young, with at least two instances involving teenagers who lacked management or government experience. These inexperienced "Team Leads" often received distinctive and colorful nicknames, such as "big balls."

A notable consequence of this reorganization was the removal of the Office of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to meet the requirements of Reductions in Force (RIF). Additionally, the FLRA appointed a Chairman who lacked any legal education or experience and never even attended college.

Workforce Departures and Early Retirements in 2025

The combination of a government-wide hiring freeze instituted on January 20, 2025, and the sudden policy shifts triggered a massive wave of departures from the federal service.

• Early Retirements: The 2025 fiscal year saw a record number of voluntary and early retirements as many senior experienced, and proven, career professionals chose to leave rather than transition back to full-time in-office work or face reclassification into Schedule Policy/Career.

• Total Departures: While final official counts are still being tallied across all sub-agencies as of the date of this article, initial OPM data suggests that over 148,000 career employees left the federal government in 2025 through a combination of retirements, resignations, and RIF actions.

Major Changes Directly Affecting Career Employees

• CBA Terminations: Agencies were directed to "terminate or modify" existing collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). Following termination, agencies have begun reclaiming union office space and equipment.

• Loss of Official Time: Employees at excluded agencies are no longer permitted to use taxpayer-funded "official time" for union representational activities.

• MSPB Operations: In a major blow to employee due process, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) ceased operations on October 1, 2025, suspending all appeals and pleadings. Processing has since resumed.

• Telework Reevaluations: Even for employees with disabilities, telework is now reevaluated at least once per year to determine if in-office accommodations can replace it. Agencies are implementing systems intended to deny requests, regardless of legitimate need.

• Loss in Pay: Many employees who were on Special Salary Rates (SSR's) had those rates unilaterally terminated. In 2026, the Trump administration approved just a 1% pay raise and has proposed a 0% percent pay raise for federal employees in 2027.

• Veterans Administration "silent RIF's": While the VA initially refrained from openly implementing the Reduction in Force (RIF) of its personnel as initially stated, internal sources are reporting that it is preparing for a "silent RIF." This will be achieved through a Human Resources reorganization (now allegedly named "RISE") targeting Human Resources Specialists and specific "auditing" practices aimed at these HR professionals. These audits will involve reviewing their work product to ensure it aligns with "established", yet non-standardized, practices. Notably, one source revealed that the least experienced personnel in the department will be responsible for conducting these audits and determining the fate of more experienced HR personnel.

• "At Will Classification": 2026 has ushered in a new personnel classification into the spotlight—Schedule Policy/Career—which fundamentally alters the traditional understanding of civil service protections for affected employees.

  • Schedule C: The Traditional Political Appointees: Schedule C positions are the long-standing "noncareer" appointments within the excepted service. These roles are specifically designed for positions of a confidential or policy-determining character that are meant to be filled by individuals who change with each presidential transition. AT most, 4,000 federal employees were under this designation.

  • Schedule Policy/Career (The New "Schedule P"): Established by Executive Order 14171 in January 2025, Schedule Policy/Career (often referred to as Schedule P or P/C) is a new excepted-service category. It targets career positions that are "confidential, policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating" but are not intended to change with a presidential transition. While they are career positions, employees in this schedule lose most traditional due process rights. They lack the right to advance notice of removal and cannot appeal removals or reclassifications to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Arguably, this is a "loyalty position" as failure to "faithfully implement" administration policies is now explicit singular grounds for termination. OPM estimates that approximately 50,000 positions will be moved or hired into this category.

  • Schedule F: The Predecessor: While "Schedule F" is frequently used in headlines, it is technically the predecessor to the current Schedule Policy/Career.Originally established in late 2020 and later revoked, the 2025/2026 iteration (Schedule P) adopts many of the same principles but includes specific amendments regarding merit hiring and political loyalty. The 2025 final rules clarify (at least on paper) that Schedule Policy/Career positions remain career-based and merit-driven, even though they lack the appeal rights traditionally associated with the competitive service. Regardless, they are now "at will" employees by any metric.

It is important to understand that the destruction of the federal workforce is still underway and taking many forms and taxpayers have already begun to feel the effects. The U.S. federal workforce will not be able to rebuild, to again be the model for the world, until Trump is out of office. It may take decades to recover.