1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I am writing to you regarding the Office of Personnel Management’s recent proposal to consolidate and restructure federal occupational series. This is not routine modernization. It is a fundamental reshaping of the federal workforce that raises serious concerns about intent, impact, and accountability. The April 24, 2026 memorandum outlines plans to consolidate 115 occupational series affecting thousands of federal employees. While it is framed as an effort to streamline and modernize, the underlying reality is far more troubling. Eliminating specialized classifications and forcing them into broader categories risks dismantling the very expertise that makes federal agencies function effectively. This proposal does not exist in a vacuum. Under the leadership of Russell Vought and OPM, this effort appears less about modernization and more about weakening the structure, independence, and professionalism of the federal workforce. When you strip away specialized roles and replace them with vague, generalized classifications, you erode accountability, reduce clarity in hiring, and make it easier to politicize or destabilize career positions. The justification cited, including low employment numbers, declining hiring trends, and redundancy, ignores a critical truth. Many federal roles are specialized by necessity, not by accident. Small numbers do not equal low value. In many cases, they reflect highly technical, mission critical work that cannot and should not be diluted. OPM claims this will not immediately impact pay or grade, but that is beside the point. Structural changes like this reshape career paths, weaken professional identity, and create long term instability. Once these classifications are gone, they do not come back. This raises a serious question. Why is there such urgency to consolidate and simplify at the expense of precision and expertise. From the outside, it looks less like reform and more like an intentional effort to hollow out the federal workforce. You were elected to represent your constituents, including the federal employees who rely on a stable, fair, and transparent system. Silence on this issue is not neutrality. It is complicity. I am asking you to take a clear, public stance. Demand oversight. Ask hard questions. Push back on any effort that undermines the integrity of federal service under the guise of modernization. The federal government does not need to be simplified into dysfunction. It needs to be strengthened, protected, and respected.