US Election 2024

Trump admin reclassifying federal workers to more easily fire them

President Donald Trump’s administration is making moves to reclassify federal workers at two key agencies in order to make it easier to terminate their employment, according to a report by Reuters on Thursday. The affected agencies are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Energy (DOE). This action is part of Trump’s long-standing plan to reclassify tens of thousands of federal workers, as he believes many of them are opposed to his policies.

Acting assistant administrator Emily Menashes sent an email to impacted employees at the NOAA on Tuesday, acknowledging the concerns and uncertainties surrounding the Schedule Policy/Career reclassification. Most federal workers are protected by regulations that require a valid cause for termination. However, Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office creating a new category of workers who can be dismissed at will.

Under this new classification, NOAA employees would still be considered career staff, rather than political appointees, but they would be expected to align with the administration’s agenda. The Department of Energy and the White House did not respond to requests for comment, while the NOAA declined to provide a statement.

Trump’s administration has been focused on reducing the size of the federal government since the beginning of his presidency. In a separate development, at least one federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of probationary federal workers who were terminated in mass layoffs. U.S. District Court Judge James Bredar issued a directive on Tuesday requiring 18 federal agencies to reverse the terminations of thousands of probationary workers by April 8, following a case brought by several state attorneys general.

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The affected states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Trump has faced numerous nationwide injunctions during his tenure, with more than 15 orders issued so far in his current term. This exceeds the number of injunctions received by former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden throughout their presidencies.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich criticized the influx of injunctions as a “judicial coup d’etat” during a hearing before a House Judiciary subcommittee. He pointed out that the majority of judges issuing injunctions against Trump’s actions have been appointed by Democrats.

As the situation continues to unfold, it is clear that Trump’s administration is implementing significant changes within the federal workforce. The impacts of these reclassifications and terminations remain to be seen, but they are likely to have far-reaching consequences on government operations and employee morale.

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