The Rule
OPM finalized a new Schedule Policy/Career rule in February 2026. It revives the core idea behind Schedule F: move policy-related career jobs into a category with fewer protections.
At the same time, agencies are still dealing with layoffs, buyouts, reassignments, and reports of new workplace surveillance. This is not a Washington staffing story. The federal workforce touches food inspections, veterans’ benefits, workplace safety, weather forecasting, environmental enforcement, and the records that let people see what government is doing.
Why It Matters
Authoritarian projects start by hollowing out the institutions that slow down abuse, preserve records, and enforce rules evenly.
If career staff are pushed out and replaced with loyalists, bad orders meet less resistance. Public harm becomes easier to hide.
Push for Oversight
- Use Resistbot to send a letter asking for oversight of Schedule Policy/Career and agency workforce purges.
- Call your House representative and ask whether they support turning career civil service jobs into political loyalty tests.
- Ask one local civic group or union contact to circulate the same action this week.
Template Letter
I am a constituent from [zip code], and I want Representative [name] to demand oversight hearings on Schedule Policy/Career, agency layoffs, and the reassignment of career federal workers. Replacing expertise with political loyalty weakens public safety, public transparency, and the rule of law. Congress should investigate agency interference and protect career civil service positions from partisan purges.