Published: June 4, 2026 β’ 1:23 AM IST Β· Updated: June 4, 2026 β’ 11:46 AM ISTBy TheBriefWire Editorial Team
Key points
Trump strips job protections from 8,000 federal workers toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America Stay up to date with our Up First newsletter sent every weekday morning.
President Trump has issued an executive order turning an estimated 8,000 federal workers into at-will employees, which means the government could fire them without providing any reason.
The move culminates an effort Trump launched during his first term to strip vast numbers of federal employees of civil service protections designed to insulate their work from political interference.
Nearly all of the 8,000 people affected are at the highest level of the civil service, known as GS-15. The Trump administration characterizes the roles as senior positions with significant influence over policy.
They include leaders of policy offices and their chiefs of staff, heads of regional offices, program managers, senior public affairs officers and those overseeing spending and grants.