Trump signs executive order that makes it easier to fire federal employees

NPR ^ | June 04, 2026 | Andrea Hsu

[Red Badger]

President Trump signed an executive order reclassifying 8,000 high-ranking civil servants into at-will employees who can be fired without due process.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

President Trump is taking action on one of his long-standing complaints that it's too hard to fire federal employees - everyone from underperformers to people trying to get in the way of his agenda. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports.

ANDREA HSU, BYLINE: It was originally called Schedule F, a new category of federal workers who can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. President Trump introduced the idea back in 2020, and now he's made it official.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It's a big one.

HSU: Yesterday at the White House, he signed an executive order reclassifying some 8,000 high-ranking civil servants, stripping them of the government's strong job protections. The vast majority of federal workers can only be fired for a reason like misconduct. Trump invited White House aide James Sherk, the mastermind behind this plan, to say a few words.

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JAMES SHERK: What this does is basically treats those employees like private-sector workers. If they're messing up, then they can be removed quickly rather than taking a year or longer to get rid of them.

TRUMP: That's great.

HSU: Now, already, there are multiple lawsuits over this. Critics point out Congress gave government workers strong job protections for a reason - to shield their work from political interference, to make sure food safety experts and vaccine researchers and economists could issue reports and guidance based on their expertise, not on shifting political winds. Don Moynihan is a professor at the University of Michigan. He fears this move will have a chilling effect.

DON MOYNIHAN: If you are a career civil servant and there is bad news that you want to share with the president, you're less likely to do so if you think, the minute I share that bad news, I'm going to get fired.

HSU: That's not theoretical. Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a bad jobs report. Now, originally, the Trump administration estimated some 50,000 positions could be reclassified. That's far more than the 8,000 covered by the executive order. Moynihan thinks they may just be getting started.

Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS:

[V_TWIN]

Oh boy, this oughta be good

[mikey_hates_everything]

I hope that goes for Foreign Service Deputy Assistant Secretaries at the State Dept. I know of one in particular I’d like to see canned and then not hired by the contractor he’s been steering business to for his retirement gig.

[ComputerGuy]

Just in time for a Sunday night smack down.

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

Getting rid of the corrupt USAID was quite big - it cut off the left’s federal funding using taxpayer dollars

I read somewhere that after USAID shut down, the DNC had to take out loans.

generally senior policymakers

Let's see.........Who makes the policy decisions.......hmmmmmmmmm would that be President Trump?

There was a great scene in the TV series Yellowstone when Costner became Governor. He walks by a room of about 2 dozen people all around a conference table, just working away. He walks to the head of the table, and asks who the heck are all of you? They answer they are the Governor's policy group. He fires all of them.

[Sacajaweau]

I thought this was done before...and it was in stone...But way back around anthrax time.

[wbarmy]

I hate this beyond any level of hate. Federal employees have always served at the pleasure of the President and have always known it. Not until Trump did they feel emboldened to complain. Just like EVERY computer system in the federal government flashes a sign at loadup saying that ALL information on that computer is liable for search and indictment if criminal activities are detected. I always knew who my boss was but I guess party trumps the USA.

[Red Badger]

Obama undid it, now Trump is undoing Obama’s crap...........

[Mr. N. Wolfe]

In a sane and rational world, the Republican legislature would be eagerly working with president Trump to make all of his Executive Orders the law of the land.

[Ken H]

Countdown until federal judge strikes it down.

[vivenne]

Exactly.

[packrat35]

A lot of non-profits shut down and it killed off a lot of leftist funding.

[dware]

Odds on how long it will take?

[fwdude]

Here comes the leftist judge...

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

EVERY computer system in the federal government flashes a sign at load-up saying that ALL information on that computer is liable for search

It's not YOUR frakin' computer! Public or private, it belongs to the entity where you work!

In several jobs, I end up being the computer help guy. While I would help with almost any situation, I stopped when someone asked how to do something outside of the work duties. In this day and age of personal smartphones, it is crazy to use the company computer for anything but company work!

Hello! McFly!!

Smartphones are computers with a telephone App. You can shop online to your heart's delight. Personal shopping online with your work computer?

C'mon, Man!

[ten18]

The head of the BLS was not fired for a “bad jobs report.” She was fired for the ridiculously incorrect numbers her agency issued quarter after quarter. Again, the legacy media is the enemy of the people.

[Maskot]

Well, that can’t stand… Donald J Trump is the only president in the history of the United States that is not allowed to sign executive orders to make things better for everyone. Cuz reasons