Project 2025, a rightwing blueprint backed by the Heritage Foundation, proposes mass firings of federal employees and replacing them with political appointees. Donald Trump, despite distancing himself from the plan, has voiced similar hostility towards the 2 million-plus federal workforce, calling them 'crooked' and 'dishonest'. His 'Agenda 47' promises to 'clean out the Deep State' and restore an executive order known as Schedule F, which would strip job protections from tens of thousands of civil servants.
Schedule F, first introduced by Trump in his final months in office and later revoked by Joe Biden, would reclassify many federal positions as at-will employment, making them subject to political dismissal. Trump allies claim it would cover 50,000 jobs, but unions argue the number could be far higher. Currently, only about 4,000 positions are presidential appointments. Trump's team reportedly has a list of 20,000 loyalists ready to fill federal roles.
Critics warn that politicising the civil service would undermine public services and safety. Jacqueline Simon of the American Federation of Government Employees said: 'Do you want people with skills and expertise, or people who love Donald Trump?' She warned of risks to food safety, workplace safety, and environmental protection. Brian Kelly, an EPA responder to the East Palestine train derailment, said Schedule F could force scientists to follow political narratives, endangering the public during emergencies.
Donald Moynihan, a public policy professor, called the issue the 'most important topic that the fewest number of people understand' ahead of the November election. The plan would effectively overturn the 1883 Pendleton Act, which established merit-based hiring to replace the spoils system. Doreen Greenwald of the National Treasury Employees Union said the focus on the federal workforce 'looks to destroy what has been in place for decades'.
