Schedule F Will Destroy The Deep State
In early 2025, President Donald Trump reinstated Schedule F through a sweeping executive order, fulfilling a campaign promise to dismantle the “deep state” that he and his allies have long accused of undermining his administration. The order reclassified over 50,000 federal employees in policy-related roles as at-will workers, stripping them of civil service protections and allowing for their swift removal. Within weeks, thousands of bureaucrats across agencies like the FBI, EPA, and State Department were replaced with loyalists handpicked by Trump’s team, led by figures like Russell Vought and J.D. Vance. Trump hailed the move as a historic victory for democracy, declaring on Truth Social that he had “crushed the unelected deep state” and restored power to the American people. Supporters celebrated the purge, pointing to instances where career officials had allegedly obstructed Trump’s agenda, such as delaying border wall funding or resisting immigration crackdowns during his first term.
The impact of Schedule F’s implementation was immediate and far-reaching, reshaping the federal government’s operations. Agencies once staffed by nonpartisan experts now buzzed with appointees who prioritized loyalty to Trump over institutional knowledge, leading to a flurry of policy shifts. For example, the DOJ fast-tracked investigations into Trump’s political adversaries, while the EPA rolled back environmental regulations at an unprecedented pace, citing the need to align with the president’s vision. However, the changes sparked chaos in some sectors—veterans’ hospitals faced delays as experienced administrators were replaced, and foreign service officers reported confusion in diplomatic efforts due to the sudden turnover. On X, reactions were polarized: Trump’s base cheered the “draining of the swamp,” while critics decried the creation of a new spoils system, warning of a government now beholden to partisan whims rather than public interest. The National Treasury Employees Union filed lawsuits, but legal challenges were slow to gain traction against the executive’s broad authority.
By mid-2025, the long-term effects of Schedule F began to crystallize, revealing both the power and peril of Trump’s strategy. The administration successfully pushed through its agenda with little resistance, from mass deportation programs to defunding certain climate initiatives, as remaining federal workers fell in line, fearing dismissal. Yet, the cost of this efficiency was a hollowing out of expertise—whistleblowers reported that scientific data at the CDC was being sidelined to avoid contradicting Trump’s health policies, echoing the “Sharpiegate” scandal of his first term. Public trust in government plummeted further, with polls showing a sharp decline in confidence in federal agencies. While Trump and his allies, including Vivek Ramaswamy, touted the destruction of the “deep state” as a triumph, critics like scholar Donald Moynihan argued that the move had created an “army of suck-ups,” where loyalty trumped competence. The experiment with Schedule F has undeniably centralized power in the executive, but at the expense of institutional stability, leaving the nation to grapple with a government remade in the image of one man’s vision.
