Alleged Unilateral Presidential Authority Over Federal Personnel Rules.
The new Administration has issued an Executive Order, during the last week of March, 2025, re-establishing its prior plan to remove federal service protections for thousands of federal workers, in “policy related” positions. However, Biden era regulations had been in place, which were intended to block the revival of the Schedule “F” policy. This policy intention is to remove civil service protections, for existing policy making positions, facilitating the installation of administration loyalists, in policy making positions. Most legal observers maintain that it in order to by-pass the Biden regulation; the new Administration would need to either issue a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or an interim final rule.
However, according to the Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell, the Administrative Procedure Act is not a barrier to presidential authority; and the OPM Director has issued a memo to Agency heads, indicating that the president has the constitutional authority to unilaterally rescind regulations governing federal personnel issues. Moreover, according to the Executive Order, the President can unilaterally rescind the prior regulations, rendering the prior regulations, as void and having no legal effect.
Supposedly, under this unilateral authority, agencies can begin to compile lists of “policy related” jobs, and OPM has set an initial deadline of April 20, 2025, for agencies to submit initial petitions to reclassify workers outside of the competitive service. The OPM guidance also stated that a second executive order will be published later this spring to “effectuate the transfers.” This unilateral action will most likely cause further litigation, on possible substantive violations of the Administrative Procedure Act.
