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Gov’t HR Vacuum Threatens Trump Workforce Reform

A leadership vacuum at the small government agency charged with human resources threatens President Trump's reform agenda.

Trump’s plan to reduce headcount at federal agencies that employ two million people became harder after his nominee to head the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) dropped out, Politico reports. George Nesterczuk, a former OPM official, pulled his name from consideration following heavy criticism from public-sector unions that objected to his nomination, Politico reports.

In a July 31 letter to Trump (PDF), Nesterczuk noted that he did “not wish to be a distraction for the Administration while I defend my integrity,” from “recent partisan attacks.” He called those attacks “baseless.” Multiple sources told Politico that Nesterczuk’s confirmation process was going slowly because he had failed to turn in paperwork for review. He was nominated in May.

“His withdrawal is a huge obstacle [to reform] because they don’t have anybody in the White House with any federal government expertise,” Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Politico. “They would need somebody like Nesterczuk to walk them through [civil service policies].”

OPM has been under the supervision of acting director Kathleen McGettigan, a 25-year agency veteran, reports Government Executive.

Trump made a splash shortly after taking office, including putting in place a hiring freeze just three days into his term and that has since been lifted. Then in March, he signed an executive order to initiate a “comprehensive plan for reorganizing the executive branch.” That meant agencies having to turn in reorganization plans by September, and spelling out how they would “maximize the performance of government workers.” 

But for Trump’s workforce reform agenda to work, he needs a fully functioning OPM that could provide the White House direction on policies related to health and retirement benefits as well as how agencies can hire and fire.

“This is the type of thing where if you just wade into it without information, it’s really easy to break things,” Jeffrey Neal, a former chief human capital officer at the Department of Homeland Security and who now has a blog on government HR practices, told Politico. “For example, you can really screw up pay. You can screw it up and pay people too much and they’ll never leave. You can screw it up and pay too little and be unable to hire. You can break an agency’s workforce.”

All the uncertainty puts McGettigan in a tough bind. Trump’s practice of quick firings with little or no notice may undermine her effectiveness as a leader and her ability to implement change, according to Government Executive. “Obviously it’s going to be very tough for her to be able to get in to be heard in the White House,” said Donald Devine, who was in charge of OPM during President Ronald Reagan’s first term. “Clearly, it’s a problem.”

Despite McGettigan being “extremely capable,” it will still be a tough road for her to get the same things done as a confirmed director, a former George W. Bush appointee, who worked with her told Government Executive. “OPM is kind of in the crosshairs of all this downsizing,” the former appointee said. “You need a confirmed director in place.”

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