The powerful Office of Personnel Management is tightening its hold on the Senior Executive Service, with a new command that all federal agencies enumerate their SES employees and identify those who hold positions more suitable for political appointees.
In a memo dated Monday, OPM’s acting director Charles Ezell directed departmental heads and acting heads to prepare a revised list of positions held by “career-reserved” members of the SES, who are the top echelon of federal government employees. The memo makes clear that the Trump administration wants more of its people and fewer senior career public servants in policymaking positions.
“Over 200 of these career-reserved positions include the term ‘policy’ within their title,” the memo states, adding that “in these situations, major policies of the President or agency head are filtered through appointees with reduced democratic accountability.”
Jenny Mattingley, the Partnership for Public Service’s vice president of government affairs, blasted the move.
