Defense Department officials received a “blanket exemption” from the civilian hiring freeze ordered by President Donald Trump, according to memorandums from the Army and Air Force.
“Normal hiring actions and onboarding may continue,” stated an Army memo obtained by Military Times and signed by Mark R. Lewis, acting assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs.
While Trump’s memo about the hiring freeze said it didn’t apply to military personnel, it was initially unclear whether the exemption applied to all DOD positions — including jobs in areas such child care, commissaries, schools and other quality-of-life programs on military installations.
The Army memo states that the Office of Personnel Management had notified DOD of the blanket exemption. A similar memo, dated Jan. 24, was issued by the Air Force and signed by Gwendolyn R. DeFilippi, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs.
Defense Department officials had no comment when asked to confirm that the exemption was in place. However, one agency within DOD confirmed to Military Times on background that they were exempt from the hiring freeze.
Trump’s order, issued soon after his inauguration Jan. 20, froze hiring for federal positions that were vacant as of noon that day. It also prevents the creation of new federal positions.
The order remains in effect for at least 90 days, when the Office of Management and Budget will submit a plan to reduce the size of the federal government’s workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition. When that OMB plan is issued, the hiring freeze will end.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
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