```

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 20 (Friday, January 31, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8625-8627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02095]



                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 20 / Friday, January 31, 2025 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 8625]]

                Executive Order 14171 of January 20, 2025

                
Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing 
                Positions Within the Federal Workforce

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, including sections 3301, 3302, and 7511 of 
                title 5, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as 
                follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. Article II of the United States 
                Constitution vests the President with the sole and 
                exclusive authority over the executive branch, 
                including the authority to manage the Federal workforce 
                to ensure effective execution of Federal law. A 
                critical aspect of this executive function is the 
                responsibility to maintain professionalism and 
                accountability within the civil service. This 
                accountability is sorely lacking today. Only 41 percent 
                of civil service supervisors are confident that they 
                can remove an employee who engaged in insubordination 
                or serious misconduct. Even fewer supervisors--26 
                percent--are confident that they can remove an employee 
                for poor performance.

                Accountability is essential for all Federal employees, 
                but it is especially important for those who are in 
                policy-influencing positions. These personnel are 
                entrusted to shape and implement actions that have a 
                significant impact on all Americans. Any power they 
                have is delegated by the President, and they must be 
                accountable to the President, who is the only member of 
                the executive branch, other than the Vice President, 
                elected and directly accountable to the American 
                people. In recent years, however, there have been 
                numerous and well-documented cases of career Federal 
                employees resisting and undermining the policies and 
                directives of their executive leadership. Principles of 
                good administration, therefore, necessitate action to 
                restore accountability to the career civil service, 
                beginning with positions of a confidential, policy-
                determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating 
                character.

                Sec. 2. Reinstatement of Prior Administration Policy. 
                Executive Order 13957 of October 21, 2020 (Creating 
                Schedule F in the Excepted Service), is hereby 
                immediately reinstated with full force and effect, 
                subject to the amendments described in section 3 of 
                this order; provided that the date of this order shall 
                be treated as the date of Executive Order 13957.

                Sec. 3. Amendments to Prior Administration Policy. 
                Executive Order 13957 is amended as follows:

                    (a) replace the letter ``F'' throughout, when used 
                to designate an excepted service schedule, with the 
                words ``Policy/Career'';
                    (b) in section 1:

(i) remove the text between the words ``make necessary'' in the seventh 
paragraph and ``excepting such positions'' in the eighth paragraph; and

(ii) insert the text ``competitive service and the'' immediately before the 
words ``adverse action procedures'' in the eighth paragraph;

                    (c) in section 4(a)(i), replace the word 
                ``Positions'' with the words ``Career positions'' in 
                the final paragraph;
                    (d) in section 4(b)(i), add the text ``providing 
                for the application of Civil Service Rule 6.3(a) to 
                Schedule Policy/Career positions and'' after the words 
                ``as appropriate'';
                    (e) in section 5:

[[Page 8626]]

(i) insert the words ``recommend that the President'' immediately after the 
words ``petition the Director to'' in subsection (a)(i);

(ii) insert the following text at the end of subsection (c):

``(vi) directly or indirectly supervising employees in Schedule Policy/
Career positions; or

(vii) duties that the Director otherwise indicates may be appropriate for 
inclusion in Schedule Policy/Career.''; and

(iii) amend subsection (d) to read ``The Director shall promptly recommend 
to the President which positions should be placed in Schedule Policy/
Career.'';

                    (f) in section 6:

(i) designate the existing text as new subsection

``(a)'';

(ii) insert a new subsection (b) that reads:

``(b) Employees in or applicants for Schedule Policy/Career positions are 
not required to personally or politically support the current President or 
the policies of the current administration. They are required to faithfully 
implement administration policies to the best of their ability, consistent 
with their constitutional oath and the vesting of executive authority 
solely in the President. Failure to do so is grounds for dismissal.''

                Sec. 4. Conforming Regulatory Changes. The Director of 
                the Office of Personnel Management (Director) shall 
                promptly amend the Civil Service Regulations to rescind 
                all changes made by the final rule of April 9, 2024, 
                ``Upholding Civil Service Protections and Merit System 
                Principles,'' 89 Fed. Reg. 24982, that impede the 
                purposes of or would otherwise affect the 
                implementation of Executive Order 13957. Until such 
                rescissions are effectuated (including the resolution 
                of any judicial review), 5 CFR part 302, subpart F, 5 
                CFR 210.102(b)(3), and 5 CFR 210.102(b)(4) shall be 
                held inoperative and without effect.

                Sec. 5. Additional Positions for Consideration. Within 
                30 days of the date of this order, the Director shall, 
                after consultation with the Executive Office of the 
                President, issue guidance about additional categories 
                of positions that executive departments and agencies 
                should consider recommending for Schedule Policy/
                Career.

                Sec. 6. Revocation. Executive Order 14003 of January 
                22, 2021 (Protecting the Federal Workforce), is hereby 
                revoked, and any rules, regulations, guidance, or other 
                agency policies effectuated under Executive Order 14003 
                shall not be enforced. The heads of each executive 
                department and agency shall review and identify 
                existing agency actions relating to or arising under 
                section 3(e)(v) and 3(f) of Executive Order 14003 
                (relating to suspending, revising, or rescinding 
                revisions to discipline and unacceptable performance 
                policies) and, as soon as practicable, suspend, revise, 
                or rescind such actions identified in the review.

                Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 8627]]

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 20, 2025.

[FR Doc. 2025-02095
Filed 1-30-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
```