Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, WHITE HOUSE NEWS—EO creates new Schedule G for policy-related excepted service positions, (Jul 18, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:Office of Personnel Management
By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.
Currently, there is no excepted service schedule for noncareer positions of a policy-making or policy-advocating character.
An executive order (EO) from the Trump administration creates a new Schedule G for excepted service positions of policy-making or policy-advocating character that are normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition. The EO amends regulations at 5 CFR part 213.
New Schedule G. According to the EO, Congress has recognized that effective government administration requires excepting some positions from the competitive service due to the positions’ confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character. Schedule C of the excepted service authorizes positions of a confidential or policy-determining character, and Schedule Policy/Career of the excepted service authorizes appointments to career positions of this character. However, the EO states, there is no excepted service schedule for noncareer positions of a policy-making or policy-advocating character.
The EO amends Civil Service Rule VI (5 C.F.R. 6.2) to state that under the new Schedule G, “[p]ositions of a policy-making or policy-advocating character normally subject to change as a result of a Presidential transition shall be listed in Schedule G.” It also amends 5 CFR 6.4 to except positions listed under Schedule G from the Civil Service Rules and Regulations. The EO requires the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to adopt regulations necessary to implement the order, giving particular attention to the amendments made to 5 CFR part 213. Further, in making appointments to positions in Schedule G of the excepted service, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs must consider whether prospective appointees would be suitable exponents of the president’s policies and must not take into account prospective appointees’ political affiliation or political activity.
A fact sheet was also released by the White House with further information about the executive order.
News: WhiteHouseNews FederalRegulations PublicEmployees