White House approval is necessary for all staff belonging to Schedule G, as stated by the Office of Personnel Management.
The Trump administration has introduced a new federal employment classification, Schedule G, which aims to expand and centralize political appointments that serve the president's policy agenda. This move follows the creation of Schedule Policy/Career, a change that will affect career federal employees who are moved into that category, potentially losing their civil service protections [1][2][3][5].
The implementation of Schedule G creates a new excepted service hiring category for non-career federal positions of a "policy-making or policy-advocating" character. This allows political appointees to be hired without competitive examination and removed at will, similar to Schedule C positions [1][3][5].
According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Schedule G primarily aims to expand political appointments, filling an asserted gap specifically for policy-advocating roles. However, many experts consider it largely redundant with Schedule C, as both Schedules allow political hires who can be easily removed and prioritize loyalty over merit or career expertise [1][3][5].
One of the key differences between Schedule G and Schedule C is the centralized control by the administration. Schedule G establishes a more explicit process where agencies must route hiring requests through White House liaisons for approval, emphasizing tighter centralized control by the administration [1][3][5].
Max Stier, the Partnership for Public Service's president and CEO, has argued that the new Schedule G hiring authority is redundant and will add further confusion to the political appointment process. Stier believes that the nonpartisan civil service is critical to keeping government services running continuously, even during political administration changes [5].
Roughly 50,000 federal employees are expected to be converted to Schedule Policy/Career, and Stier has expressed concern that adding more political appointees could negatively impact effective, stable service delivery [1].
Agencies who want to hire Schedule G positions will use the Executive and Schedule C System, the same HR application used for Schedule C appointments. All agencies can use the Schedule G authority to make excepted service hires, according to OPM's new guidance [1].
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The Trump administration has also revived the previous Schedule F employment category from Trump's first term, transforming it into Schedule Policy/Career [3]. Most presidential administrations will appoint about 1,550 Schedule C employees [1].
References: [1] Friedman, D. (2020, March 18). Trump Administration Plans to Expand Political Appointees with Schedule G. Government Executive. Retrieved from https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/03/trump-administration-plans-expand-political-appointees-schedule-g/167659/
[2] Mufson, S. (2020, March 24). Trump administration moves to expand political appointments in federal government. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-administration-moves-to-expand-political-appointments-in-federal-government/2020/03/24/36c8c9b8-61d1-11ea-902a-c19057b5a82a_story.html
[3] Wong, J. (2020, March 18). Trump administration to expand political hires with Schedule G, Schedule F. POLITICO. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/18/trump-administration-schedule-g-schedule-f-122141
[4] OPM's Guide to Processing Personnel Actions. Retrieved from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-and-compensation/classification-policy/authorities/general-schedule/
[5] Stier, M. (2020, March 24). Trump's Schedule G is a dangerous attack on the civil service. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/24/trumps-schedule-g-is-dangerous-attack-civil-service/
- The new Schedule G policy, introduced by the Trump administration, is creating a new excepted service hiring category for non-career federal positions that require policy-making or advocating, potentially leading to the loss of civil service protections for federal employees.
- The federal workforce concerns that the increasing political appointees, as a result of Schedule G and Schedule F, could negatively impact effective, stable service delivery, thereby disrupting the general news and policy-and-legislation landscape.
- Critics argue that Schedule G, with its increased centralized control by the administration and focus on political hires, poses a potential threat to the independent civil service, emphasizing the need for continued protection and respect for this essential institution.
