The Trump administration is moving to expand political influence within Federal agencies, directing them to revise the designation of chief human capital officer (CHCO) roles so that political appointees can fill the positions.
In a memo sent to agencies on Thursday from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the White House recommended that Federal agencies reclassify “career reserved” Senior Executive Service (SES) positions as “general,” setting a March 24 deadline.
Positions designated as “career reserved” must be filled by career Federal employees. Reclassifying these SES roles as “general,” however, would enable the Trump administration to appoint political personnel.
Charles Ezell, the acting OPM director, asserted that CHCO roles have “become intensely politicized in recent years,” referencing “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)” initiatives under the Biden administration in his argument that CHCO’s authority goes “beyond mere technical matters.”
“Agency CHCOs determine policy when they choose which policies, including DEI policies, their departments should prioritize and fund – and which should be deemphasized or defunded,” wrote Ezell. “HR [human resources] policies and priorities can siphon funds and manpower that would otherwise be dedicated to different policy objectives, with tangible effects on everyday Americans. The public rightly expects that government officials who make these policy choices should be democratically accountable.”
“The modern CHCO makes, implements, and advocates for some of the most controversial policies in modern American politics on behalf of their Agency Head and the Administration,” Ezell later continued.
Many CHCO roles are designated as SES general roles, with some designated as career reserved. The memo, though, follows a pattern of the Trump administration’s moves to change traditionally nonpolitical roles to general classifications after OPM instructed agencies to reconsider reclassifying their SES career reserved on the argument that there can only be 3,571 under law – writing that number has “has grown rapidly and is now roughly double the minimum.”
Before its latest memo requesting that agencies review their role classifications, OPM had also directed agencies to remove the career reserved designation for agency chief information officers (CIO) on the premise that CIOs make political decisions – similar to the argument given for CHCOs.
The memo also follows the administration’s placement of Traci DiMartini, the human capital officer for the IRS on leave for alleged “ineffective management” of the administration’s deferred resignation program, according to reporting from Government Executive, who wrote that the action was also taken on the assertion of her “insubordination” toward Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees.
“That they’re accusing human capital officers of being partisan because we implemented DEIA under the Biden administration is so counterproductive to their own argument,” DiMartini told Government Executive. “Our job is to follow the law and help implement the policies and programs of whoever is in charge.”
The recent actions taken by the Trump administration to change role designations have come under fire by Democrats, with Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., writing at the time of OPM’s request to change CIO designations that the move was “yet another attempt to use partisan political attacks to sideline and marginalize career professionals in the government under the guise of promoting government efficiency.”