Summary
President Trump's administration is proposing a new rule that would make it harder for U.S. federal workers to appeal if they are fired. Instead of going to an independent review board, workers would have to appeal directly to the Office of Personnel Management, which is under the president's authority. This change is part of a larger effort to reduce the federal workforce and align employees with the president’s policies.
Key Facts
- President Trump's administration wants to change how federal workers can appeal their firings.
- The Office of Personnel Management proposed that workers must appeal directly to them, not to an independent board.
- The Merit Systems Protection Board, which mediates between employees and the government, won't handle these appeals if the new rule is approved.
- The board's cases increased by 266% between October 2024 and September 2025.
- Last year, the administration forced out about 317,000 federal workers.
- A separate proposal suggests reclassifying some high-level career workers as “at will,” allowing easier dismissal.
- The Supreme Court is reviewing a case about the president's authority to remove political appointees, sparked by an attempt to fire US Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
- The administration claims the new rule would make the firing process faster and cheaper for the government.
