Not giving up on the civil service

Your work is too important

Dear civil servant,

As civil servants have been debating whether to try to stay in their jobs or accept one of the government’s “incentives” for walking away, many have asked: “If I stay, what institution am I staying in?” The administration is trying to change the federal bureaucracy so rapidly and dramatically — its size, its rules, and how it serves the country. You probably wonder where this train is headed, and whether it makes more sense to leave now or stay and serve in the new version of a “civil service”: a lean cabal of loyalists subject to the president’s every whim. We’re writing to tell you that you are not paranoid, that this is in fact the administration’s vision for the federal bureaucracy — but that the game is not over.

We’re fighting back alongside a broad coalition that’s standing up for the federal civil service, and this newsletter describes one concrete way you can add your voice to the efforts to save the civil service.

The looming “big threat”: RIFs

In normal times, RIFs — Reductions In Force — are how federal agencies lawfully do layoffs when they have budget issues or must confront changing circumstances that necessitate a reorganization. A RIF is a tool that has been responsibly used by many agencies over the many decades.

But we are in the midst of a campaign to unlawfully abuse RIF procedures in order to reshape the federal bureaucracy to fit the Trump Administration’s vision for it, cutting services that people rely on while repurposing departments to advance the Administration’s views. The lawsuit we filed Monday alongside a coalition of outstanding partners and plaintiffs, explains that our Constitution gives Congress the power to reorganize and deconstruct federal agencies through massive reductions in force, and that the President’s Executive Order 14210 (“Implementing the President’s ‘‘Department of Government Efficiency’’ Workforce Optimization Initiative”) and agencies’ implementation of it violates the Constitution’s separation of powers principle. You can read the complaint here.

A broad coalition of plaintiffs is standing up on behalf of the civil service and the work you do. They realize your value and the incredible value of your work. The plaintiffs include cities and counties across the country, organizations that represent everyone from farmers to scientists to veterans, and large labor unions. Together, they’ve sued President Trump, OPM, OMB, DOGE, and well over a dozen agencies where the RIF process is playing out to put a stop to the illegal destruction of the federal government as we know it.

Make your voice heard: public commenting on proposed regulations

If the RIF threat is a wrecking ball — devastatingly destructive, but at least you see it coming — the proposed changes to civil service regulations are more like a slow gas leak — silent but equally damaging.

One proposed rule, “Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service,” would create a new category of civil servant: Schedule Policy/Career (a revived “Schedule F”). Schedule Policy/Career civil servants would have none of the safeguards that actually protect federal employees from politicized firings, demotions, or abuse. The new rule would also allow existing civil servant positions to be involuntarily moved into this category, thus stripping them of their protections.

Alongside this rule, the federal government has sneakily proposed changes to a regulation about civil servants’ “suitability” for their roles — giving OPM wildly expansive power to decide when employees are unfit, based on expansive criteria, with no meaningful opportunity for the employee to challenge the decision. We’re seeing a pattern here: This administration is trying to create a system where it can fire federal employees, particularly those who dare stand up for facts, evidence, and the law even when they are inconvenient to the politicians, without challenge or question.

Here’s one way to take action right now. If you are a current or former federal employee, or a concerned member of the public, submit a comment on the proposed Schedule P/C rule. (We will let you know when the similar comment window is open for the suitability rule described above.) If you oppose the creation of Schedule P/C, say that! And say why. The government agency is required to consider these comments. As current or former civil servants (or those who have relied on them), your comments can provide credible, relevant, and detailed information about the dangers of politicizing the federal civil service. Those comments could also build a record of opinion that would help in any future litigation against Schedule P/C.

Yes, it might seem intimidating, but this whole process of commenting on regulations is intended to solicit feedback from the public. And we’ve broken it down for you:

1. Attend Democracy Forward and Protect Democracy’s upcoming webinar “Schedule F-P/C” Rulemaking and the Civil Service” on May 1, 2025 from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST. You can RSVP here.

2. Review Democracy Forward’s one-pager on the proposed rule.

3. Review our explainer on “What Makes an Effective Public Comment”

4. If you are an individual person, review our “how-to guide” on submitting Schedule P/C comments here.

5. If you are a leader of an organization, business, or coalition group, review our “how-to guide” on Schedule P/C comments here.

If you fear reprisal for submitting comments, you should know that you have the option to comment anonymously. However, providing your name can lend credibility to what you say.

Deciding how to stay

Some civil servants don’t feel like they have a real choice about whether to stay or leave; you need the paycheck and the health insurance, and getting a new job isn’t always simple. Deciding to leave can be an act of courage; deciding to stay can be an act of hope.

If you decide to stay, you can also decide how you want to stay: Do you have any personal red lines? Decide what they are and how you’d respond if they were crossed. Do you have any heroes you want to emulate? Anyone whose grit or character in times of adversity you admire? We have plenty — the whistleblower at the NLRB who saw something and said something about a possible serious DOGE data breach; the university and law firms that are using their power and wealth to stand up against the administration’s pressure while so many of their peers have caved; and participants in the 1,400 plus peaceful protests held at state capitols, federal buildings, parks, city halls, and congressional offices across the country on April 6, 2025 and beyond.

Resources

• Explainers on RIFs from Lawfare, Congressional Research Service, and Fedweek.

• Read Government Executive’s detailed reporting on the RIFs affecting federal agencies here.

• Explainers on New Schedule P/C Rule from Federal Workers Rights and Government Executive

• Civil Service Strong’s Fact Sheet: Understanding Suitability & Fitness

• Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network - Learn more about this website launched to help unemployed civil servants find new jobs and pro-bono representation here.

• Former Gov - A platform to connect former government employees and military professionals with those who could benefit from their experience, knowledge, and insight.

• Silenced Science Stories - An illustrated series of portraits and stories of scientific experts whose work is being affected by federal budget cuts and mass firings.

• TheImpactProject.org - provides objective, transparent, and open-source data to help explain how federal policies, funding, and workforce changes affect our communities. Their tool, the Impact Map, shows the local impact of federal workforce, funding, and policy decisions.

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This publication should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information and educational purposes only, and should not be relied on as if it were advice about a particular fact situation. The distribution of this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship with Protect Democracy. This publication also contains hypertext links to information created and maintained by other entities. Protect Democracy does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this outside information, nor is the inclusion of a link to be intended as an endorsement of those outside sites.