The Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee on Friday warned the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) against converting political appointee positions to career jobs, saying such actions could undermine the priorities of the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
“Known as ‘burrowing, this practice can damage trust with a new administration and undermine its new priorities,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), said in a Nov. 23 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. “I urge you to enforce applicable laws governing employee conversions from political to career positions. Such vigilance is vital to maintaining the principle that the federal workforce should be free from political influence.”
Photo: U.S. House of Representatives.
McCaul said that the under secretary for Management at DHS has been providing quarterly updates since last spring on the conversions. He said that since 2009 the Obama administration has converted some political appointee positions to career Senior Executive Service (SES) positions, including the deputy under secretary for Science and Technology and the assistant administrator for Response at the Federal Emergency Management Agency among others.
McCaul also said that DHS recently has made postings for several SES positions, including deputy chief financial officer at Customs and Border Protection, principle deputy assistant secretary for Policy, deputy assistant secretary for Americas Policy, and director of Enforcement and Litigation at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Office of Personnel Management has notified departments that a government-wide moratorium is forthcoming on necessary reviews for appointments to SES positions. This action will give “pause” to filling senior positions and “allow the new administration’s leadership time to evaluate the agency’s need,” McCaul said.
McCaul wants DHS to provide him with any senior positions it is queuing up for conversions from non-career to career.