House Chairs Seek Accounting of Political Appointees Burrowing into Career Positions at Dozens of Agencies

House Committee Chairs sent a letter to 61 federal agencies requesting information on conversions of political appointees to civil service positions during the Trump Administration. Federal law requires that personnel actions are carried out in a way that the “selection and advancement” of employees in the civil service are “determined solely on the basis of relative ability, knowledge, and skills, after fair and open competition,” rather than on the basis of “partisan political purposes.” In accordance with civil service protections, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) requires all agencies to seek its “approval prior to appointing any current or former political appointee to a permanent position ... in the civil service.”  Following such requests, OPM reviews proposed selections to determine whether conversions are appropriate.