Trump pushes for civil service reform to bring more federal civil servants under the president's jurisdiction

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was pushing for a sweeping overhaul of the civil service, issuing new rules to convert thousands of positions previously reserved for career federal employees into political positions. The changes further strengthen an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office, which asserts that he has broad authority to hire and fire senior civil servants. "Going forward, career government employees working on policy matters will be classified as'policy/careers' and will be held to the highest standards of conduct and performance," Trump said on his social media. "If these government workers refuse to advance the president's policy interests or engage in corrupt practices, they should no longer have jobs," Trump said. "We must root out corruption and bring accountability to the federal workforce!" Trump's aides say the measure is crucial to implementing a policy agenda they believe was undermined by career federal employees during the president's first term.