Trump administration finalizes move to end protections for about 50,000 federal workers

The Trump administration finalized a civil service rule that could remove job protections for about 50,000 career federal employees. Unions and advocacy groups have sued, and court challenges are set to resume in the coming days.

The Office of Personnel Management released a final rule that would allow the president to designate roughly 50,000 career federal positions to lose longstanding civil service protections. The administration presented the change as a step to make the workforce more responsive and said the rule prohibits political patronage or loyalty tests. Unions and advocacy groups filed lawsuits earlier to block the proposal while it was being developed. Judges paused related litigation during finalization, and legal action is expected to continue. Key points: - The OPM finalized a civil service overhaul that enables reclassification of about 50,000 federal positions so they could be removed from typical career protections. - OPM officials framed the change as aimed at improving efficiency and explicitly said it bans political patronage and loyalty tests. - Federal worker unions and advocacy groups sued to challenge the policy; courts paused litigation while the rule was completed. - The rule also changes how whistleblower protections are enforced by placing more responsibility with individual agencies rather than an independent office. Summary: The rule changes longstanding civil service protections and alters the enforcement mechanism for whistleblower claims. Court challenges are expected to resume in the coming days and will determine whether the changes can take effect.