Is it a fireable offense to say climate change is real?
If you’re a government scientist whose work is considered “policy-influencing,” the answer may soon be “yes.”
Tens of thousands of highly skilled government employees will be stripped of job protections — and become fireable based on their supposed infidelity to the president’s agenda — under the final version of a rule that conservative operatives in President Donald Trump’s orbit have been gunning for for years.
The rule creates a new category of government workers that fits in between career civil servants and the small number of political appointees that come and go with every president. The new category, initially called “Schedule F” and now called “Schedule Policy/Career,” includes an estimated 50,000 workers deemed to be “policy-influencing” — meaning those with work that is “confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating.” This includes government workers such as bank examiners, attorneys, scientists, policy analysts and even IT professionals.
The “final rule” defining Schedule Policy/Career positions was made available in the federal register Thursday, and is set to be officially published on Friday. After 30 days, the president will be able to designate tens of thousands of civil servants across the government as “Schedule Policy/Career” positions, meaning they would lose the ability to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board — a key safeguard for government employees who believe they’ve been unfairly punished.
