White House to make it harder for US federal workers to challenge firings

In February 2026, the Trump administration proposed a change to the process by which US federal workers can challenge their firings. The proposal, released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), would require terminated employees to appeal directly to the OPM, which reports to the president. Currently, federal workers can appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), an independent review board established in 1978. The administration argues this change is part of a broader effort to shrink the federal government and limit workers' ability to challenge personnel decisions. This proposal follows another recent announcement that would reclassify certain high-level civil servants as "at will" employees, potentially affecting approximately 50,000 workers.

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories