Schedule G Hires Need White House Approval: OPM Memo
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued new guidance on how to set up the new class of federal political appointees known as Schedule G.
OPM states that all employees who fall under Schedule G are subject to White House approval.
Schedule G is for political appointee positions in the excepted service that are of policy-making or policy-advocating character. They do not require Senate confirmation. Schedule G employees are expected to depart after a president’s term is over.
The White House will be heavily involved in Schedule G appointments. For instance, use of the authority requires coordination with OPM’s White House Liaison through OPM’s Executive and Schedule C System (ESCS). ESCS serves as the central intake and approval mechanism for the Schedule G appointing authority at the agency level.
In addition, the approval or withdrawal of a Schedule G appointment requires review from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel (PPO).
“As a matter of practice, no Schedule G appointment(s) should be advanced without coordinating with the employing agency’s White House Liaison,” said the memo.
OPM is also updating its Guide to Processing Personnel Actions, which will detail the hiring codes agencies should use to make Schedule G hires.
Filling a Gap or Redundant?
In the executive order creating Schedule G, President Trump stated that it will fill a gap in federal appointments, with the President noting that political appointees who serve in Schedule C positions, serve in more narrow confidential or policy-determining roles.
Federal policy experts have questioned why Schedule G is necessary, given the overlap with Schedule C politically appointed roles.
Writing in Lawfare, University of Minnesota Assistant Law School Professor Nick Bednar writes that Schedule G appears “largely redundant” with Schedule C, with the White House flexing additional power.
“Reviving a 19th-century patronage model, the Trump administration seeks to replace the civil service’s merit-based system with one that rewards loyalty,” wrote Bednar.
