Trump Nominates Scott Kupor for OPM Director

President-elect Trump’s nominee for OPM reflects his view on how to restructure government.

Challenges Facing OPM

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Scott Kupor as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Kupor would lead an OPM organization that has grown under the Biden administration. It now has a larger budget and workforce.

For fiscal year 2025, the Biden administration proposed a budget of $465.8 million for OPM, which is an increase of about 21% compared to the enacted budget of $385.7 million in fiscal year 2023.

Based on numerous statements by President-elect Trump and his associates, the Trump administration will be seeking to significantly reduce the size of the federal workforce and the size of federal agencies. Whether this will be done through reduction-in-force actions, attrition, a hiring freeze, or working to enact legislation to reduce the size and scope of some agencies remains to be seen. It is likely some combination of all of these actions will be used.

In any of these situations, the Office of Personnel Management will play a significant role in designing and implementing these programs.

Role of OPM

OPM is sometimes referred to as the federal government’s human resources office. The agency will likely play a key role in managing changes proposed for the federal workforce.

OPM is responsible for various federal programs that manage the federal workforce, including recruitment, retention, and the overall strategy for federal employee management. Each agency usually has its experts but OPM is responsible for the overall design and implementation of the government’s personnel programs.

Key Portions of Trump Strategy

Kupor’s appointment is part of Trump’s strategy to reform the federal workforce. He will likely play a central role in initiatives such as reviving Schedule F. The purpose of Schedule F under the first Trump administration was to make it easier for the administration to hire and fire federal employees based on performance.

President-elect Trump has also indicated he will order federal employees to return to work in federal offices instead of working at home. Federal employee unions are gearing up to prevent initiatives like this from being successfully implemented. As OPM advises agencies on implementing administration objectives, the labor relations portion of OPM’s mission will be a key factor in how successful the administration will be in meeting these key objectives.

In other words, can the unions halt or delay implementing some of these key objectives? Undoubtedly, they will resist the administration’s efforts through litigation, negotiating labor agreements that will negate new policies, or seeking to discredit the administration’s efforts through a large public relations program.

Additionally, the new OPM director is also likely to focus on modernizing aspects such as retirement services and the recruitment process, as he has a background in technology and management.

Education and Background

Kupor is currently a managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent venture capital firm where he was also the first employee. Before his tenure at Andreessen Horowitz, he served as the chairman of the National Venture Capital Association from 2014 to 2018. His career also includes roles in executive management, notably as a vice president and general manager at Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Kupor graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy. He also holds a law degree, with distinction, from Stanford University.

Unlike most former OPM directors, Scott Kupor’s resume does not reflect direct experience in overseeing a human resources organization or federal workforce management. 

The nomination does reflect Trump’s aim to leverage Silicon Valley management expertise in his administration. This reflects a trend of appointing tech-savvy individuals into key roles.

While Kupor’s role may prove to be pivotal in implementing significant changes to how the federal government manages its workforce, he will likely rely on current or former government employees to provide the background and technical experience necessary to manage these federal programs. He will likely rely on using his management expertise to direct the work of experts in the federal human resources field.

The nomination also provides insight into what Trump considers necessary to implement change in how the federal government is run. Rather than relying on those with expertise in federal human resources to implement change, he would rather bring in outside management talent to have the government reflect how companies are managed rather than relying on people used to the current management system.

About the Author

Ralph Smith has several decades of experience working with federal human resources issues. He has written extensively on a full range of human resources topics in books and newsletters and is a co-founder of two companies and several newsletters on federal human resources. Follow Ralph on Twitter: @RalphSmith47