1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I am writing to express my deep concern over the Office of Personnel Management’s recent actions to expand its authority over reductions in force, employee removals, and appeals. These changes represent a fundamental shift away from the independent civil service protections that have served our country for generations and threaten the integrity of the federal workforce. I believe these actions reflect the agenda of Russell Vought and this administration to weaken the nonpartisan civil service and make it easier to remove career federal employees. Whether one agrees with this policy direction or not, concentrating more authority over hiring, firing, and appeals within the same agency undermines confidence that employees will receive an independent review of adverse actions. The merit based civil service was created to ensure that federal employees serve the American people, not political interests, and those protections exist for a reason. Federal employees dedicate their careers to serving veterans, seniors, taxpayers, small businesses, law enforcement, national security, disaster response, scientific research, and countless other essential missions. They deserve fair procedures, independent appeals, and the assurance that employment decisions will be based on merit and the law, not shifting political priorities. I urge you to publicly oppose these regulatory changes and to support congressional oversight of OPM’s expanding authority. Congress should reaffirm the independence of the Merit Systems Protection Board, preserve meaningful due process protections, and ensure that career civil servants retain access to impartial review when facing removal or a reduction in force. Our government functions best when public servants are protected from political interference and can perform their duties professionally and impartially. Weakening those safeguards does not strengthen government. It risks undermining the very principles that have sustained a professional federal workforce for decades. I ask that you stand with the career public servants who faithfully serve the American people every day and work to restore the checks and balances that protect the integrity of our civil service. Thank you for your time and your consideration.