Talk:Spoils system

Page should include current administration's unstated but clearly ongoing attempted return to the spoils system

While striving to remain nonpartisan (and not editing the article myself because I know my own biases and fear that I would fail to properly address them in this context), I would like to note that under the directives/suggestions/policies of Project 2025 (many of whose architects have been placed in high-level positions, including Russell Vought as head of the Office of Management and Budget), with the reinstatement of Schedule F (now "Schedule Policy/Career") as of this January 20, and with the ensuing mass firings across the executive branch stemming from the stated desires to ensure that even low-level bureaucrats are explicitly aligned with the administration's policies and to reward supporters, the government is clearly attempting to reinstate a form of the spoils system. It is explicitly "a political party, after winning an election, giv[ing] government jobs to its supporters [and] friends...as a reward for working toward victory", so I fail to see how it could be partisan to describe it as such in the article body. But as I said, I don't fully trust myself to write about this particular issue in a perfectly nonpartisan way, so I leave this to others to write. LieutenantZipp (talk) 06:05, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

@LieutenantZipp We need secondary sources (news articles) about the effort to reanimate the spoils system in the United States--we can't just use Project 2025 (a primary source) and we can't claim it's coming back on our own authority, which would violate our "no original research" and "neutral point of view" polices. But if you can find articles about this, go to town! jengod (talk) 06:47, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

I'm not much of a writer, but there are now plenty of articles breaking down the effort to shift federal employment from merit-based hiring to loyalty-based appointments, similar to the spoils system.

These articles frequently mention that the approach originated in Project 2025 and was solidified in the president's Agenda 47. Both initiatives promote mass firings and propose using Schedule F or “Schedule Policy/Career” to facilitate the replacement of career civil servants with political appointees.

I've gathered both secondary sources that explicitly describe these policies as a modern form of the spoils system, as well as primary sources that document the shift in federal employment practices, hoping that someone more skilled writing wikis can use this to update the wiki.

New Schedule F guidance shows the Trump White House is rearing its head again and mentions its similarity to the spoils system. (https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/01/new-schedule-f-guidance-shows-trump-white-house-rearing/393875/)

Trump plan to upend civil service advances under new name, noting Schedule F’s connection to spoils system hiring. (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/27/trump-plan-upend-civil-service-advances-under-new-name-00139649)

Legal Vulnerabilities of Schedule F analyzes Schedule F and concludes it returns the federal workforce to the spoils system. (https://governingforimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Legal-Vulnerabilities-of-Schedule-F.pdf)

OPM’s official notice documents the administrative shift, providing government confirmation of policy changes related to the spoils system. (https://www.regulations.gov/document/OPM-2025-0004-0001) NioVision (talk) 01:42, 10 November 2025 (UTC)

Blanche v Perlmutter

this pending SCOTUS case is concerned with if the POTUS may or may not fire a person ~2025-32595-02 (talk) 02:18, 24 November 2025 (UTC)