Trump strips job protections from 8,000 federal workers

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.