Freeze top career hiring to block political ‘burrowing-in’
Mandate recommends freezing all top career-position hiring at transition to prevent outgoing political appointees from converting into career posts, and limiting SES burrowing via proper political-slot creation.
Mandate
Mandate Ch. 3 (Central Personnel Agencies) — Reductions-in-Force / SES: what is needed at beginning is freeze on all top career-position hiring to prevent burrowing-in by outgoing political appointees; Reagan OPM limited SES burrowing by creating/filling political positions; career staff reserving excessive ‘career reserved’ positions frustrates CSRA intent.
Undo plan
1) Replace blunt freezes with case-by-case OPM review of political-to-career conversions.
2) Enforce existing burrowing rules and competitive procedures rather than vacancy freezes that harm operations.
3) Audit career-reserved SES designations for both over- and under-reservation.
4) Publish conversion approvals with written justification.
5) Verify: OPM conversion logs; IG sampling of SES selections around transitions.