Personnel as policy

SHOULD former President Donald Trump win reelection in November, he may have a hard time fulfilling his promise to clean out the bureaucracy. On April 4, the Biden administration released a final rule that will make it harder for incoming presidents to fire federal employees.

Late in his administration, Trump created Schedule F, a measure that allows the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to reclassify certain federal employees as political appointees or at-will workers, allowing them to be reassigned or fired. The measure applied to tens of thousands of the 2.2 million federal employees who do not have jobs typically considered to be political—such as attorneys, office workers, IT specialists, analysts, and embassy staffers.

But the new OPM guidance clarifies that a nonpolitical status cannot be changed involuntarily. It also establishes an appeals process for classifications.

But conservatives say the change shields federal employees from accountability when they use nonpolitical positions for political purposes. Project 2025, an effort within the Heritage Foundation to staff a future Trump administration, has called for vetting and culling employees in several bureaucratic departments and replacing them with conservatives.

Congress has so far refused calls to codify employee reclassification protections. Trump could roll back the new rule if he returns to office, but the revision process can take years and involves a long public comment period.

Winning on the fundraising circuit

While President Biden and former President Trump are tied in the general election polls, Biden and the Democratic National Committee are pulling ahead in the fundraising race.

Trump’s campaign said it raked in $65.6 million in March—the result of lavish Florida fundraisers. But Biden has also been busy soliciting funds, holding galas and attending a New York fundraiser flanked by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. March events alone deposited some $90 million into DNC coffers.

The DNC has surged ahead in major and small donations. The party reported $192 million in cash on hand, more than double the Republican National Committee’s $93.1 million. But the RNC is also funneling millions of dollars in donations toward Trump’s legal fees, a requirement the DNC says will help it continue to outspend Republicans in ad buys and campaign assistance. —C.L.