The Federal Civil Service

For most of the nineteenth century federal jobs were political spoils, handed out by each new administration to its supporters. Andrew Jackson defended the practice as democratic rotation in office. The assassination of President James Garfield by a disappointed office seeker in 1881 led to the Pendleton Act of 1883, which required that a growing share of positions be filled by competitive examination and protected those employees from being fired for political reasons. Successive presidents extended the merit system until it covered nearly all federal civilian jobs.

The civilian workforce numbered about 2.3 million at the start of 2025, not counting the Postal Service, and roughly 85 percent work outside the Washington area, in VA hospitals, IRS service centers, military bases, national parks, and field offices in every state. Most are paid on the General Schedule, fifteen grades with steps within each, and hired through competitive examination with preference for veterans. Career employees who complete a probationary period may be fired only for cause or poor performance, with appeal rights to the Merit Systems Protection Board, and about a quarter belong to unions that bargain over working conditions though not over pay.

Supporters of the civil service argue that a permanent, nonpartisan workforce provides expertise and continuity and protects the public from political abuse of government power. Critics argue that the protections make it nearly impossible to remove poor performers and allow career staff to resist elected leaders. In 2025 the administration sought to shrink the workforce through deferred resignations, dismissals of probationary employees, reductions in force, and a hiring freeze, a reduction the Office of Personnel Management estimated at roughly 300,000 positions by year's end, and created a new category stripping protections from employees in policy-influencing roles. Federal unions challenged many of the changes in court.