Presidential Document2025-02042
Restoring Accountability for Career Senior Executives
Primary source
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Published
January 30, 2025
Signed
January 20, 2025
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 19 (Thursday, January 30, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 19 (Thursday, January 30, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8481-8482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02042]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 19 / Thursday, January 30, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 8481]]
Memorandum of January 20, 2025
Restoring Accountability for Career Senior
Executives
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies
Career Senior Executive Service (SES) officials are
charged to ``ensure that the executive management of
the Government of the United States is responsive to
the needs, policies, and goals of the Nation and
otherwise is of the highest quality,'' as required by
section 3131 of title 5, United States Code. SES
officials have enormous influence over the functioning
of the Federal Government, and thus the well-being of
hundreds of millions of Americans.
As the Constitution makes clear, and as the Supreme
Court of the United States has reaffirmed, ``the
`executive Power'--all of it--is `vested in a
President,' who must `take Care that the Laws be
faithfully executed.' '' Seila Law LLC v. Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau, 591 U.S. 197, 203 (2020).
``Because no single person could fulfill that
responsibility alone, the Framers expected that the
President would rely on subordinate officers for
assistance.'' Id. at 203-04.
The President's power to remove subordinates is a core
part of the Executive power vested by Article II of the
Constitution and is necessary for the President to
perform his duty to ``take Care that the Laws be
faithfully executed.'' Because SES officials wield
significant governmental authority, they must serve at
the pleasure of the President.
Only that chain of responsibility ensures that SES
officials are properly accountable to the President and
the American people. If career SES officials fail to
faithfully fulfill their duties to advance the needs,
policies, and goals of the United States, the President
must be able to rectify the situation and ensure that
the entire Executive Branch faithfully executes the
law. For instance, SES officials who engage in
unauthorized disclosure of Executive Branch
deliberations, violate the constitutional rights of
Americans, refuse to implement policy priorities, or
perform their duties inefficiently or negligently
should be held accountable.
The President must be able to trust that the Executive
Branch will work together in service of the Nation. My
Administration will restore a ``government of the
people, by the people, for the people.'' Therefore:
(a) Within 30 days of the signing of this
memorandum, the Director of the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM), in coordination with the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), shall issue
SES Performance Plans that agencies must adopt;
(b) Agency heads, who along with their senior staff
manage career SES officials as one of their core
functions, shall use all available authorities to
reinvigorate the SES system and prioritize
accountability;
(c) Each agency head shall, as necessary and
appropriate and consistent with the procedural
requirements of section 3395 of title 5, United States
Code, reassign agency SES members to ensure their
knowledge, skills, abilities, and mission assignments
are optimally aligned to implement my agenda;
(d) Each agency head should terminate its existing
Executive Resources Board (ERB), institute a new or
interim ERB, and assign senior noncareer officials to
chair and serve on the board as a majority alongside
career members;
[[Page 8482]]
(e) Each agency head should terminate its existing
Performance Review Board membership and re-constitute
membership with individuals committed to full
enforcement of SES performance evaluations that promote
and assure an SES of the highest caliber; and
(f) Any agency head who becomes aware of an SES
official whose performance or continued occupancy of
the position is inconsistent with either the principles
reaffirmed in this Order or their duties to the Nation
under section 3131 of title 5, United States Code,
shall immediately take all appropriate actions, up to
and including removal of that official, with the
support of OPM and OMB. Restoring an accountable
government workforce is a top priority of my
Administration.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, January 20, 2025
[FR Doc. 2025-02042
Filed 1-29-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 30, 2025.
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