How Trump could upend D.C.'s federal workforce
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Federal workers — the lifeblood of the Washington region's economy — are bracing for a massive government overhaul under President-elect Trump.
Why it matters: Trump wants to slash government jobs, and his closest allies have plans to swap career civil servants for loyalists.
Reality check: It's impossible to predict Trump, and many of his most sweeping promises can be hyperbole, but let's consider what he and his allies have done and said so far.
Take his "plan to dismantle the deep state," for example:
- "As many as 100,000 government positions can be moved out — and I mean immediately — of Washington," Trump said in March 2023 on his campaign website.
- There are 282,700 federal civilian workers in the greater DMV area, per government data.
Zoom in: Trump added he will "immediately reissue" an executive order known as "Schedule F" — allowing him to radically reshape the federal government.
- It would reassign tens of thousands of civil servants who serve in roles deemed to have some influence over policy as Schedule F employees, stripping away their employment protections.
- Trump had signed the Schedule F executive order in October 2020 — but President Biden quickly rescinded it.
Context: New presidents typically get to replace about 4,000 so-called "political" appointees, as former Axios reporter Jonathan Swan laid out two years ago.
- But below this rotating layer of political appointees sits a mass of government workers who enjoy strong employment protections — and typically continue their service from one administration to the next, regardless of the president's party affiliation, reported Swan.
- Armed with Schedule F, Trump could theoretically fire that group — as many as 50,000 workers.
State of play: The Biden administration has laid spike strips to prevent a revival of Schedule F. A new rule this year strengthens protections for career civil servants. In the event of a reclassification, workers can also take advantage of a new appeals process, Federal News Network reports.
- But those roadblocks may only delay Schedule F — not entirely prevent it.
What they're saying: "Plans like Schedule F would undermine our government's ability to deliver fair and responsive services to all Americans by stripping the federal workforce of expertise and filling it with employees hired for their political beliefs rather than their skills and qualifications," Jenny Mattingley of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan group that advocates for civil servants, tells Axios in an email.
- A spokesperson for Trump's transition did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Beyond that, Trump and his allies have agencies on the chopping block.
- Elon Musk is set be a government efficiency czar.
"We will reduce a lot of government headcount," Musk said at a town hall in Philadelphia last month.
- His words: "We're going to give I think very long severances, two years or something like that."
- "They can earn double income, go on vacation, whatever they want," Musk tweeted. "It's a good deal."
Elsewhere, Trump has said he wants to eliminate the Department of Education.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who could receive a health-related position in the administration, told NBC some "entire departments" need to be canned, such as parts of the Food and Drug Administration.