Donald Trump, shortly before the end of his term as president, attempted to implement a much-delayed plan to dramatically expand the group of federal civil service employees exempt from the regular hiring, disciplinary, and firing procedures for federal workers. Although President Joe Biden rescinded this policy upon taking office, in the months since, prominent conservative voices have signaled their intent to pursue the same objective. This policy presents enormous risk not only to the competence of and public trust in the U.S. government but also to national security. To prevent future implementation of such plans, Congress must work immediately to pass the Preventing a Patronage System Act (PPSA).

Background on the PPSA and Schedule F

On October 21, 2020, Trump issued executive order 13957, directing the heads of all federal agencies to compile lists of positions to propose for reclassification into a new category: Schedule F. Jobs subject to this reclassification included executive agency positions “of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character and that are not normally subject to change as a result of a Presidential transition.” As set forth in guidance issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), employees in these positions could include: those who participate substantively in drafting regulations or guidance, those who act as supervising attorneys, those with substantial discretion to perform supervising agency...

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