Realigning Presidential Appointments: Converting PAS Roles to Career SES for Competency and Continuity

Campaign Briefing: Decoupling Partisan Politics from Governance

2028 Presidential Campaign of Martin A. Ginsburg, RNOctober 9, 2025

I. INTRODUCTION: PROFESSIONALISM BEFORE PATRONAGE

“Not every role in government should be political—and many never should have been.”

Of the more than 1,200 positions in the federal government currently designated as

Presidential Appointments with Senate Confirmation (PAS), a significant number are operational, not political. They require technical knowledge, program management, and continuity—not presidential alignment or campaign loyalty.

This briefing addresses which PAS roles may be feasibly converted to career Senior Executive Service (SES) positions under current law, and identifies departments that may restructure without legislative intervention to reduce partisan staffing while raising professional standards.

II. PAS → SES CONVERSION: DEFINING FEASIBILITY

A PAS role may be reclassified to SES if it meets three conditions:

1. The role is managerial or administrative, not involved in setting national policy or representing political strategy.

2. There is no statutory requirement mandating PAS status under the enabling legislation.

3. Comparable SES or GS career roles exist elsewhere for similar scope and responsibility.

III. TARGETED CONVERSION CANDIDATES

Below are representative PAS roles that meet these criteria and are well-positioned for conversion to SES career status.

Agency	Current PAS Role	Proposed SES Equivalent
Education	Asst. Sec. for Elementary & Secondary Ed.	SES Director, K–12 Program Administration
HHS	Asst. Sec. for Administration	SES Executive Director for Departmental Operations
Agriculture	Under Sec. for Food & Nutrition	SES Administrator, Nutrition Services
Transportation	Asst. Sec. for Budget & Programs	Director of Infrastructure Budgeting (SES)
Homeland Security	Asst. Sec. for Public Affairs	SES Director of Public Engagement
Interior	Commissioner of Reclamation	SES Director, National Water Infrastructure
Energy	Asst. Sec. for Energy Efficiency	SES Director, Clean Energy Programs
Treasury	Asst. Sec. for Management	SES Chief Operating Executive
Commerce	Asst. Sec. for Economic Development	SES Director of Economic Recovery
Labor	Deputy Secretary	SES Executive for Labor Operations

These positions are managerial, frequently filled by experts even in their current PAS status, and functionally equivalent to SES roles in other agencies.

IV. AGENCIES READY TO RESTRUCTURE—NO NEW LAWS REQUIRED

Several departments host PAS roles whose status is not embedded in statute, meaning they can be reclassified by executive decision and OPM approval.

Departments that can begin PAS-to-SES conversion now:

• Department of Commerce

• Department of Transportation

• Department of Health and Human Services

• Department of Labor

• Department of the Interior

Each of these agencies contains assistant secretary or deputy roles that are not subject to statutory PAS requirements and are already mirrored by SES-grade equivalents elsewhere in the Executive Branch.

V. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR NON-LEGISLATIVE CONVERSION

1. Inventory all PAS positions agency-by-agency, identifying:

   • Statutory PAS mandates

   • Management-only roles

   • SES function equivalents

2. Submit conversion proposals to OPM for reclassification under existing Title 5 authority.

3. Publicly commit to a 25% reduction in political appointee dependency within the first year of the administration.

4. Recruit competitively via SES frameworks, USAJobs.gov, and agency executive resource boards (ERBs).

VI. LEGISLATIVE PATHWAYS FOR ROLES REQUIRING STATUTORY REFORM

Where statutes explicitly designate PAS authority, Congress must act to convert these roles:

• Strike “appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate”

• Replace with “appointed under the merit principles of Title 5”

• Empower agencies to fill these with career SES personnel subject to competitive vetting

A proposed Career Leadership Reform Act would codify these conversions at scale, promote stability, and reduce turnover in federal leadership.

VII. CLOSING REMARKS

“We don't need Senate confirmation to fund school lunches or manage electric grid upgrades. What we need are leaders who’ve been in the trenches, not on the donor list.”

This campaign will reassign PAS-level responsibilities that do not require political discretion to the career civil service, aligning leadership with merit, not partisanship. Through OPM-validated realignment, we will build a government that serves beyond terms, beyond talking points, and beyond party.

“Leadership doesn’t require loyalty oaths—it requires experience. Where laws allow, we will reclassify management roles as career SES positions to eliminate politics from operations and build a lasting government of professionals.”

“We don’t need to politicize our public programs to govern them. We need to professionalize them.”

The goal is not to strip authority from elected leaders. The goal is to ensure that those who implement public programs—from infrastructure to nutrition to research—do so with experience, institutional knowledge, and accountability to law, not politics. Reducing PAS roles where political discretion is unnecessary will reinforce continuity, efficiency, and public trust.

“Not every appointment needs a campaign donor behind it. We will reduce political influence where it does not belong—by converting operational leadership from political placements to professional appointments. A stronger government is one run by professionals—not placeholders.”