The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is experiencing significant changes under the new Trump administration, with a team of current and former Elon Musk associates taking key positions, raising questions about oversight and management of the federal workforce.
Don Moynihan, who teaches at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, expressed worry about the implications for congressional oversight. “This makes it much harder for anyone outside Musk’s inner circle at OPM to know what’s going on,” Moynihan noted.
The transformation began on January 20, Trump’s inauguration day, when a group of Musk-affiliated individuals assumed control of OPM. In a move reminiscent of Musk’s management style at X (formerly Twitter), the team has installed sofa beds on the fifth floor of OPM headquarters, where the director’s office is located.
This secured area requires either a security badge or escort for access. According to an OPM employee, the beds are meant to facilitate round-the-clock work, mirroring Musk’s approach when he took over X in 2022.
“It feels like a hostile takeover,” shared one employee, reflecting the tension within the agency.
OPM Leadership Shakeup Involves Personnel Shifts, Elon Musk Allies
The leadership restructuring has led to significant personnel changes, including the relocation of Katie Malague, the agency’s chief management officer, from her original office to a different floor. Malague has not commented on the situation.
The developments at OPM, combined with similar disruptions at the Treasury Department reported recently, highlight Musk’s expanding influence across federal institutions. The Washington Post revealed that David Lebryk, the Treasury Department’s highest-ranking career official, is departing following disagreements with Musk allies who sought access to payment systems.
The new OPM leadership team includes several notable Musk associates. Brian Bjelde, who serves as a senior adviser, joined SpaceX in 2003 as an avionics engineer and later became the company’s HR vice president.
Amanda Scales, a former Musk employee, now holds the position of OPM’s chief of staff. The team also includes Riccardo Biasini, previously an engineer at Tesla and a director at Musk’s The Boring Company in Las Vegas.
Eight Months’ Pay to Resign
Charles Ezell, OPM’s acting head, has been issuing directives to the federal workforce since the administration change. These include a notable offer allowing federal employees to resign with eight months of pay compensation.
The sudden nature of these communications has caught many OPM officials off guard, with one stating, “No-one here knew that the memos were coming out. We are finding out about these memos the same time as the rest of the world.”
Some of Ezell’s initial memos, dated January 20 and 21, instructed agency heads to identify employees on probationary periods and directed them to communicate through Scales’ OPM email address. These rapid changes and new directives have created an atmosphere of uncertainty within the agency, as career officials adjust to new leadership and policies.
The situation at OPM represents a broader pattern of private sector influence in government operations, particularly from Musk’s business empire. The installation of sleeping accommodations and around-the-clock work expectations mirrors management practices seen at Musk’s private companies, raising questions about the appropriateness of such approaches in federal agencies.
The developments have sparked discussions about the balance between private sector efficiency and traditional government operations, as well as concerns about transparency and oversight in federal workforce management.
As these changes continue to unfold, many are watching closely to see how this new approach to government administration will impact federal employees and public service delivery.
