The letter criticizes the Administration for allowing maximum pay and less vetting for political appointees, while droves of career employees are being fired. Image: Andrii Yalanskyi/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffRecent guidance from OPM stressing that agencies have flexibility in how long Schedule C political appointees may stay in their positions how much they are paid—making clear that they can be paid up to $195,200—and “demonstrates a desire for the expeditious hiring of underqualified and overpaid political elites,” a group of eight Democratic senators has said.
The policy “makes clear the Trump Administration’s ultimate goal is to decimate the nonpolitical career civil service and use taxpayer dollars to enrich and reward political allies, all at the cost of the government services that people rely on,” they said in a letter to OPM.
OPM told agencies to revoke any delegations to their HR offices for setting the terms for Schedule C appointments, including initial salary. It called agency discretion over their starting pay and raises “important to attract highly-qualified Schedule C employees to serve in important confidential, policy-determining, policy-making and policy-advocating roles,” which commonly support more senior appointees who require Senate confirmation.
However, the senators’ letter said the memo “encourages agencies to help install loyalists who have not been properly vetted, in critically important positions—and to pay them at the highest possible rate. As dedicated career public servants are receiving notice that they have been fired, the Administration is offering higher pay for those hired under Schedule C.”
“Further, your memo encourages agency heads to sidestep the standard hiring process and remove the objective additional reviewer of candidates. This would allow appointees to begin work in sensitive roles without any vetting, including for conflicts of interest or background checks, bypassing the basic guardrails that have been in place for decades,” they said.
They asked for information on the current numbers of Schedule C appointees, how agencies will set the terms for Schedule C appointments, and more.
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