The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) this week issued its 2020 Presidential Transition Guide to Federal agencies, setting forth rules and policies for Federal agency and department heads to follow when dealing with the departure and appointment of political appointees and the treatment of career Federal employees during the transition to the incoming Biden administration.
“While the Federal Government continues its required transition preparations, the core values and principles of merit-based civil service must endure,” said Michael Rigas, Acting Director of OPM, in a Dec. 21 memo. “Our citizens depend on all of us continuing the work of the Federal Government without interruption, and it is vital that any transition be absolutely transparent,” he said.
Separately, the Partnership for Public Service and Washington Post announced the launch of a tracking tool to monitor the Biden administration’s progress on more than 750 expected Senate-confirmable political appointments by the new administration. Positions being tracked include cabinet secretaries, deputy and assistant secretaries, chief financial officers, general counsels, heads of agencies, and ambassadors.
The Partnership for Public Service said it “recommends” that the Biden administration have its top 100 department and agency leaders confirmed by the end of April 2021, and 300 more political positions filled by August 2021.
