Pres. Trump Ending “Broken” Hiring Process for Federal Senior Executives

The Trump Administration is changing the recruitment process for Senior Executive Service (SES) members, saying it’s crucial to have SES members who are “knowledgeable regarding Administration priorities and (are) prepared to execute them efficiently and effectively.”

In a memo announcing the changes, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said that the current SES hiring process is “broken and insular” resulting in the hiring of employees who “engage in unauthorized disclosure of Executive Branch deliberations, violate the constitutional rights of Americans, refuse to implement policy priorities, or perform their duties inefficiently or negligently.” 

So here’s what’s changing. 

OPM says positions will now be selected based on merit, competence, and dedication, with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) qualifications eliminated. In order to figure out who is competent, the administration says prospective employees must have demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, be committed to the Constitution, and have a commitment to serving the American people.

Candidates will also be judged on their ability to strategically and efficiently manage resources, to budget effectively, and to cut wasteful spending. They’ll also need to demonstrate exceptional quality of work, show the ability in a “high–performance, high accountability culture” including holding people accountable, and be able to achieve and align results with overall agency goals. 

Goodbye ECQ Essays

For the hiring process itself, agencies were ordered to stop using ten-page narrative essays and adopt a resume only method with the resume capped at two pages. OPM says this will ‘help agencies achieve a robust applicant pool of top executive talent and reduce the burden and delay associated with applying to the SES.”

Agencies were also told to use validated assessments in measuring a candidate. 

And once on the job, OPM is going to provide a fee-based training program “grounded in the Constitution, laws, and Founding ideals of our government, and will provide training on President Trump’s Executive Orders.” OPM is also requiring executives to watch 80-hours of video based training annually. 

Highlights and Concerns

The nonpartisan Niskanen Center wrote about the SES changes, as well as OPM’s memo on merit-based hiring. 

It praised OPM for “delivering several long‑sought wins such as streamlined applications and résumés more in line with private‑sector norms.”

That includes focusing on skills-based hiring, pooling talent, eliminating unnecessary degree requirements, and simplifying changes. 

However, it said that the changes go “further than any recent initiative in politicizing the civil service.”

Issues include requiring essays on political views and adding extra layers of political approval to the hiring process. 

Regardless, Niskanen notes that actually implementing such changes is easier said than done, with the proposals lacking a “scalable implementation strategy.”