The Office of Personnel Management is defending a recently finalized rule meant to prevent the return of Schedule F — a Trump-era policy that made it easier to fire career federal employees in policymaking positions.

OPM’s acting director told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee that the re-emergence of such a policy would undermine civil service protections, and return the federal workforce to a 19th-century “spoils system” with major turnover.

Acting OPM Director Rob Shriver told lawmakers on Wednesday that the return of Schedule F would have a “chilling effect” on career federal employees, and prevent them from providing candid feedback on policy matters. The return of Schedule F under another Trump administration or any other presidency, he added, would also make it harder for agencies to recruit and retain qualified employees.

“If we were to send a message to the public that you no longer are prioritized in the federal government based on skills, abilities, knowledge that you have, but instead that you’re doing to be valued based on some other non-merit factor, I think the human capital challenges that the federal government already faces will be dramatically exacerbated,” Shriver said.

OPM finalized a rule last month reinforcing civil service protections for career federal employees, and hampering the return of Schedule F, if former President Donald Trump wins the presidential election this November, or in any future administration.

“It is critical that federal workers have the protections so that they are able to offer their honest advice, their honest opinions, even when unpopular — or perhaps even when their opinion based on their expertise may be something that the leadership would disagree with,” Shriver said.

“Leaders always have the opportunity to make the decision that they need to make, and then federal employees need to follow and implement it. But it would do great damage to our system and a disservice to the American people, including to safety and national security if our experts were chilled and their ability to bring their honest analysis to their leadership,” he added.

Democrats on the committee are looking to take OPM’s final rule one step further, and pass legislation that would codify its contents into law.

But Republican lawmakers said the return of Schedule F would prevent career federal employees from undermining the policies of any administration — including the Biden administration.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) pointed to recent cases where federal employees have voiced opposition to President Joe Biden’s policies on the war between Israel and Hamas.

Dozens of federal employees gathered on May 15 in front of the White House to protest the Biden administration’s stance on the War in Gaza. The government workers came together on Nakba Remembrance Day, which marks the mass Palestinian displacement in 1948, with the emergence of the state of Israel.