Trump Workforce, Management Nominees Face Senate Grilling, Defend Downsizing

Two Trump Administration nominees who would hold a lot of sway on federal workforce policies if confirmed, were quizzed by senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, at a joint confirmation hearing. 

President Trump’s nominee to become director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Scott Kupor, and the nominee to become Deputy Director for Management (DDM) of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Eric Ueland, were asked about a variety of workforce-related issues including job cuts, dismantling agencies, performance management, telework, data privacy, and collective bargaining.

Transparency with Layoffs

Kupor, a management partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, told senators that the layoffs will be necessary, as the U.S. is on an unsustainable fiscal path. However, he said terminations can be done in a more professional manner. 

“I think the process is one that requires transparency and communication, and we need to recognize and respect the humanity of the workforce,” said Kupor. “I believe the right way to do this is through communication and respecting the rights and roles of employees.”

That point was echoed by Ueland. 

“We will reduce confusion and concern while driving better results that everyone has a stake in seeing succeed,” said Ueland.

However, Ueland made clear that he views federal employees as at-will employees. 

Ueland, who has been working at OMB pending his confirmation, also defended the dismantling of agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 

Views on Unions

Both were asked about their views on President Trump’s executive order eliminating collective bargaining for the vast majority of the federal workforce, over national security concerns. 

“I’m actually excited about the opportunity that the executive order lays out for giving the federal government the ability to align mission with responsibility and ensure that at the end of the day, as Mr. Kupor has testified, we have the highest quality and highest qualified workforce assigned appropriately to the mission, tasks and responsibility of the federal government itself,” said Ueland. 

Telework Exceptions

On telework, Kupor appeared to agree with Senator James Lankford (R-OK), who indicated that telework could be applicable in some cases, including for military spouses, despite the President’s executive order ordering federal workers back to the office. 

Kupor stated that while it “does make sense” he added that “I think we need to approach those as individual matters.”

Performance Management 

Kupor also announced he wants to overhaul the performance management system.

During the hearing he pointed to a statistic that over 60 percent of federal employees ranked above average in performance reviews, and less than one percent are ranked below average. While Federal News Network points out that the data may come from a 2016 Government Accountability Office report, Kupor said it’s time for an overhaul. 

“I think OPM should do a complete review of that — figure out ways in which we can have a system that rewards innovation, rewards good work, but also one in which, if we have individuals who unfortunately are not able to perform their functions, managers have the ability to remove those people in a timely manner from their organization,” said Kupor. 

Privacy

And on the topic of data privacy, Kupor stated that he will work to “ensure that we protect data, provide privacy, and make sure that people who are not authorized to access the systems will not have that access.”

This comes as Senate Democrats asked about recent attempts from the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to gain access to sensitive data. 

A committee vote on both nominees is scheduled for April 9.