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As the Trump administration indiscriminately fires tens of thousands of talented civil servants, it also wants to shell out big salaries to the hackiest of partisan hacks.
On April 10, Charles Ezell, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, sent a letter to all agency heads, saying his office “reaffirms flexibilities” in setting the terms of employment for Schedule C employees. Schedule C employees are political appointees, and according to OPM, they typically serve in policy or confidential roles, often as confidential assistants, special counsels, and policy experts. They don’t require Senate confirmation but must be requested and approved by OPM.
Per Ezell, the flexibility to pay an initial salary of up to $195,200 to appointees is necessary to attract the people who will help “drive the unusually expansive and transformative agenda the American people elected President Trump to accomplish.”
Usually, these positions are filled by people with specific policy expertise or a background in providing assistance in confidential settings. An analysis of former President Joe Biden’s Schedule C employees, conducted by the nonpartisan group Leadership Connect, found that the bulk of the hires were from top colleges, more than 75% had at least five years’ experience post-college, and had most recently worked in nonprofits, on Capitol Hill, elsewhere in the federal government, or on a campaign.
