Government Worker Protections — Week of Mar 17, 2025

During the week of March 17, 2025, the White House issued several executive actions that could significantly change how federal government workers are hired, evaluated, and fired. Taken together, these actions represent a potential expansion of presidential control over the career civil service.

This might matter because the federal merit system—which protects government workers from being fired for political reasons—exists to ensure that agencies function based on expertise rather than loyalty. A new presidential memorandum would give the Office of Personnel Management new power to order agencies to fire employees based on their conduct after being hired, with agencies given just five days to comply. The administration may intend this to improve accountability and close gaps in the current system. It's also worth noting that the memorandum requires formal rulemaking before taking effect, and it may simply formalize authority OPM already has. But the compressed timeline and lack of defined criteria raise questions about how such power would be used in practice.

In a separate action, an executive order bars the federal government from hiring anyone who works at the law firm Paul Weiss. The administration cites security concerns and alleged discriminatory practices at the firm. However, the order's own text also says this is partly because the firm brought lawsuits against the President and employed a prosecutor involved in his criminal case. This explicit connection to legal advocacy against the President raises concerns about a political blacklist applied to the federal hiring process. An alternative explanation is that this is a pressure tactic—similar orders targeting other firms were reportedly rescinded after negotiations—but the potential chilling effect on legal advocacy remains real while the order stands.

The President also signed an order directing seven federal agencies to shrink to the bare legal minimum within seven days, and announced that the Department of Education has already cut half its workforce through buyouts. The administration argues this eliminates waste and improves efficiency. Critics note that rapid, sweeping cuts risk losing institutional expertise that can take years to rebuild, though the extent of that impact depends on implementation details.

Congress appears to be responding: several new bills introduced this week—including the Paycheck Protection Act and agency-specific workforce protection legislation—suggest bipartisan concern about these developments.

Limitations: This is AI-assisted analysis based on published government documents. Executive orders may face legal challenges, and their real-world impact may differ from what the text directs.