OPM pushes to reclassify chief information officers, opening up position to politics
A new memo from the Office of Personnel Management has recommended that federal agencies reclassify the position of chief information officer, in what appears to be an attempt to make the technical position far more political than it’s previously been.
Specifically, the new designation would have the chief information officer serve as a “general” employee rather than a “career reserved” employee. General employees, according to OPM, can be filled by a range of people, including “career, noncareer, limited term or limited emergency” senior executive branch appointees. Career reserved positions, meanwhile, are supposed to be impartial and can only be filled by career appointees.
The memo argues that CIOs have served increasingly policy-based positions, given their focus on issues including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and machine learning. The document argues that reclassifying the position could also help increase the potential talent pool for CIOs.
Still, the move seems to be focused on making it easier for the government to install outsiders — potentially from the tech industry or those associated with Elon Musk — into the CIO role, similar to the ongoing and highly controversial activities led by the Department of Government Efficiency.
The memo stated: “When an agency CIO makes policy choices about which of these topics to prioritize and fund — and which should be deemphasized or defunded — the CIO determines government policy in important ways.”
It continued: “But a modern agency CIO is not a mere engineer, scientist or technocrat. He does not spend his days writing complex lines of code, setting up secure networks, or performing other ‘highly technical’ tasks. Instead, he crafts and effectuates policy, and sets and deploys his budget, based on his Administration’s priorities.”
The move echoes President Donald Trump’s action to reestablish Schedule F, which makes it far easier to fire career civil servants.
In response to the memo, one federal CIO told FedScoop: “There are Agency CIOs whose immediate priorities, outside ensuring the continuity and security of mission essential information systems, are those of their senior political leadership. With the change of each administration, they assess those priorities and make adjustments to their activities to help ensure their success.”
The CIO continued: “Meanwhile, there are many Agency CIOs that have been crusading for the stronger centralization of technical resources to drive deep cost efficiencies — which very much seems to align with the current administration’s orientation.”
Any agency with a CIO currently classified as senior executive service and designated as career reserved is requested by OPM to send an email to redesignate that position to general employee by Feb. 14.
