Many critics say the administration is scrapping a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service in favor of a biased, politicized system.
President Donald Trump is accelerating efforts to transform the nonpartisan, merit-based federal workforce into one that demands and rewards loyalty to the president, according to civil servants, public service experts and employment attorneys.
The ongoing shift would ditch decades-old rules that were intended to ensure that federal hiring, retention and promotion decisions are based largely on employees’ skills and experience, say the workers, experts and attorneys.
The House-passed budget proposal under consideration in the Senate would give new federal workers an ultimatum to accept “at-will” status — meaning they could be more easily fired — or pay a higher retirement contribution. The administration also unveiled a plan to require job applicants to write short essays describing how they plan to advance Trump’s priorities. And Trump has revived his previous efforts to reclassify thousands of federal employees and blur the line between political appointees and career professionals.
“These employees could be replaced with partisan loyalists — people who will obey any order, regardless of the Constitution,” said Joe Spielberger, senior policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight. “This elevates loyalty to an individual president over the oath of office and the best interests of the public.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/16/trump-civil-service-loyalty-firings
