The second term of President of the United States, Donald Trump, has generated concern among American federal public employees and the unions that represent them.
A few hours after taking office, on Monday (20), the Republican signed a decree to increase his control over the federal workforce – what he repeatedly classifies as the “Deep State” (“Deep State” or “Parallel State”). , in free translation).
The measure, in practice, reversed decisions taken by Joe Biden in favor of public employees and similarly reestablishes the determinations of a decree signed by Trump shortly before the 2020 elections.
A category will be created in the civil service called “Schedule F”.
Understand the “Schedule F” category created by Trump
Classifying a worker in this new “Schedule F” category will consider him as someone hired for political reasons – and consequently make it easier to fire him.
In other words, with this decree, Trump and his nominees to head federal agencies will have greater room for maneuver in hiring and firing federal civil servants who are considered disloyal.
The measure, which had already generated fears among many federal employees in 2020 (before Biden reversed it), is now generating new concerns again.
Critics point out that the measure politicizes the public service and could lead to career employees being removed from their posts for political reasons and replaced by people committed to the new government.
An initial estimate suggests that the “Schedule F” category could have been applied to around 50,000 workers, but experts believe that the real number could be higher.

“President Trump’s executive order is a blatant attempt to corrupt the federal government by eliminating employees’ due process rights so they can be fired for political reasons,” said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 750 thousand public employees, CNN.
“The federal government already hires and promotes exclusively based on merit. The results are clear: a diverse federal workforce that looks like the nation it serves, with the smallest racial and gender pay gaps in the country. We should all be proud of that,” he added.
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) promised to “fight” against Trump’s effort to reform the civil service.
“The American people deserve to have government services delivered by qualified, nonpartisan professionals who do their jobs regardless of which party occupies the White House,” the union’s national president, Doreen Greenwald, said in a statement.
The expectation that Trump’s decree would be brought to justice came true within a few days. The NTEU, which represents around 150,000 workers, filed a lawsuit challenging the measure.
Traditionally, undoing or revising a rule requires a new rule, a process that can take months and cannot be done by fiat, experts told CNN.
Apprehension among public servants
Despite the judicialization, several public officials reported to the CNN on condition of anonymity, who are already apprehensive and expect to be affected soon.
A lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) worries that the creation of “Schedule F” will make it harder to do his job correctly.
He, who has spent his entire career in public service, hopes to move into the ranks as DHS lawyers are consulted on national and local policy issues.
If this happens and they are deprived of the legal protections that public officials enjoy, the lawyer worries that he will not be able to give an honest assessment of the issues before him.
“After almost 20 years of federal service, I have never felt this kind of anxiety about my job,” said the lawyer, who lives in the southwest with a wife and two young children. “Being able to do my job freely with the feeling that I won’t be subject to reprisals, I feel like those days are over when “Schedule F” is implemented,” he added.
Some federal officials, however, are taking a more challenging stance.
A Department of Veterans Affairs employee who thinks he or she will be reassigned is concerned about being placed in a position that would conflict with his or her personal values and beliefs. But if that happens, he said he would either find another job or wait to be fired.

“I’m not going to succumb to the chilling effect,” said the Washington, D.C., metro area resident who previously worked in the private sector. “Being a political martyr would be a new experience for me.”
Trump’s decree
In Monday’s executive order, Trump wrote: “Accountability is essential for all federal employees.”
“Any power they have is delegated by the President, and they must answer to the President, who is the sole member of the Executive Branch. […] In recent years, however, there have been numerous well-documented cases of career federal employees resisting and undermining the policies and directives of their executive leadership,” the order says.
Critics, however, say it would set the country back 140 years in labor law, to a time when elected officials hired political supporters for government positions.
Any effort to undermine apolitical, merit-based public service is a “mistake” that harms the federal government’s ability to deliver good results to the American public, Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, told CNN .
* With information from CNN’s Tami Luhby and Rene Marsh
This content was originally published in “Schedule F”: Trump’s decree generates fear among federal public servants on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil

Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.