Trump Administration to Strip Job Protections from Top NIH Officials and Grants Staff Under Schedule F Reclassification

President Trump issued an executive order on June 3, 2026 reclassifying an estimated 8,000 merit-based federal positions as political appointees under Schedule F, removing civil service job protections. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is spearheading the move, which targets high-level National Institutes of Health officials who oversee research grant review and disbursement, making them easier to fire.

Schedule F reclassification

• ▪By reclassifying positions under Schedule F, federal workers would become easier to fire by removing the protections of federal workers
• ▪Many high-level officials who oversee the review and disbursement of research grants from the National Institutes of Health are among the merit-based positions being reclassified under Schedule F
• ▪President Trump issued an executive order on June 3, 2026 defining thousands of positions within the civil service sector that the administration will reclassify as political appointees
• ▪The White House estimates that 8,000 merit-based positions will be reclassified under the Schedule F executive order

Political appointee conversion

• ▪The Schedule F executive order converts thousands of civil service positions into political appointees
• ▪Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is Health Secretary in the Trump administration

Research community concerns

• ▪Biomedical researchers and policy experts decried the Schedule F change when it was proposed
• ▪Science officials fear the Schedule F reclassification risks destabilizing the research enterprise, which requires predictability over longtime horizons
• ▪Science officials fear the Schedule F shift makes the grants process more susceptible to political whims