Federal Hiring Changes: Committees to Vet Candidates as Freeze Extended Indefinitely

President Trump signed an executive order extending the federal hiring freeze indefinitely, while also giving the administration more say in potential hires. 

It’s the third time the federal hiring freeze has been extended. This time there was no end date cited on the order. There are limited exceptions for positions tied to national security, immigration enforcement, and public safety as well as for political appointees. 

Strategic Hiring Committees

The order calls for each agency to establish a Strategic Hiring Committee that will “approve the creation or filling, as applicable, of each vacancy within their agency.” The committee will be made up of political appointees, including the deputy agency head, the agency chief of staff, and others designated by the agency leader. 

The committees are tasked with ensuring that “agency hiring is consistent with the national interest, agency needs, and the priorities of my Administration.”

Agencies will also have to submit an annual staffing plan to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB ) to ensure that staffing aligns with mission critical areas, fulfills administration objectives, and aligns with the previously issued merit-based hiring plan. OPM and OMB are tasked with monitoring the implementation of those plans on a quarterly basis. 

“This Order ensures that Presidential appointees maintain oversight of Federal hiring so that the Federal workforce remains focused on improving essential functions and is fully aligned with Administration priorities,” stated a fact sheet.

The administration says the order will allow it to continue to reform the federal government, noting that it has exceeded its targeted ratio of four departures for each new hire, while prioritizing hiring in key national security roles. 

HR Leaders React

Former federal HR leader Ron Sanders, now a fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), says the order, while carrying the “potential” for politicization, lays out basic tenants of workforce planning. 

“One of two things are happening here: either the agencies didn’t have those plans, which is very, very problematic but almost likely a null set, or the politically appointed agency heads were not talking to their career folks. Both sides can point the finger with regard to the distrust there, and there’s been a lot of that going around, but all of that is beside the point because at the end of the day, the EO says to do things you should have been doing all along,” said Sanders.

Others say it will lead to more confusion and make hiring more difficult.

“Ultimately, aligning hiring to budget, programmatic and mission outcomes is important — but it should be done with the end goal of making government more effective, not just on reducing the size of the workforce,” said Partnership for Public Service Vice President of Government Affairs Jenny Mattingley.