NAGE Opposes Schedule PC Rule

Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) strongly opposes the Trump Administration’s final rule implementing Schedule Policy/Career, known as” Schedule PC”. This new federal employment classification strips away long-standing civil service protections and invites political influence into the day to day operations of the federal government.

Schedule PC creates a pathway to convert large numbers of career civil servants into positions subject to political control. It replaces merit, expertise, and adherence to the law with political loyalty. This change threatens the integrity of the executive branch and undermines the principles of a democratic republic grounded in the rule of law.

For more than 150 years, civil service protections have existed to prevent corruption, end political patronage, and ensure the federal government serves the public interest rather than partisan agendas. These safeguards were created in response to hard learned lessons. When employees can be removed for refusing to carry out unethical or unlawful actions, corruption increases, and public trust erodes.

Schedule PC reverses these protections. The foreseeable outcome is the widespread politicization of the federal workforce, increased corruption, and the concentration of power within the Executive Branch at the expense of constitutional checks and balances.

This rule serves no legitimate operational purpose. Instead, it would allow for the replacement of tens of thousands of career federal employees with political operatives and force remaining employees into a vulnerable status where intimidation, coercion, and retaliation become tools of political control.

The consequences are particularly dangerous for agencies responsible for law enforcement oversight, financial regulation, environmental protection, food and drug safety, and national security. These functions require independence, professional judgment, and impartial enforcement of the law.

The Administration claims that this rule is necessary because it is too difficult to remove poor performers from federal service. That claim is inaccurate. Federal employee removal rates already exceed those in the private sector. At the same time, the number of political appointees has more than doubled over the past several decades, costing taxpayers billions of dollars while often providing little added value to government operations.

When civil service protections are weakened, the effects are immediate and far reaching. They include politicized law enforcement, weakened regulatory oversight, compromised national security, unsafe workplaces, diminished public services, and increased abuse of power. These outcomes affect every American and harm public trust in government.

“This rule directly threatens the professional, nonpartisan federal workforce,” said NAGE National President David J. Holway. “Federal employees serve the American people, not political interests. When expertise and independence are replaced with political loyalty, the ability of agencies to carry out their missions is put at risk.”