Jeff Pon out as OPM director

Office of Personnel Management Director Jeff Pon is out as the head of the federal government’s personnel office after just seven months on the job.

Margaret Weichert, the deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, will take over as acting OPM director, the White House announced Oct. 5.

“She will assume the Office of Personnel Management duties in addition to her current duties at the Office of Management and Budget,” a White House news release said.

In his short time at OPM, Pon prioritized the digitization of personnel files and operations, as well as reforming the civil service.

He encountered significant backlash not long into his time as director after writing a letter to congressional leadership requesting changes that would reduce or eliminate components of federal employee retirement benefits.

Weichert formally joined the federal government in February 2018 and has been a driving force behind the Trump administration’s government reorganization plan and President’s Management Agenda.

That reorganization plan included objectives to split up OPM, placing part of the agency under the Executive Office of the President, while marrying the rest with the General Services Administration.

The White House announcement did not state why Pon was no longer the director of OPM.

The office itself had not returned a request for comment at the time of publication.

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