Biden Regime Quietly Revokes Veterans Hiring Preference For Civil Service Jobs

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

The Biden regime has quietly revoked the veterans hiring preference for civil service jobs and promotions, which since the 1944 Veterans Act gave eligible veterans preference over others for appointments in federal civil service selection, a memorandum obtained by American Greatness shows.

The goal of the veterans’ preference law was to “provide a uniform method by which qualified veterans [could] receive special consideration for federal employment,” according to Military.com.

By law, veterans who are disabled or who served on active duty during certain specified time periods or in military campaigns are entitled to preference over non-veterans both in hiring from competitive lists and in retention during reductions in force.

New guidelines from the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service (DCPAS) now stipulate that “veterans’ preference should be considered on an equal basis as other qualified candidates.”

The week before Thanksgiving,  DCPAS Director, Daniel Hester sent civilian personnel the memo in an email detailing an “Extension and Amendment of the Government-wide Direct Hire Appointing Authority for Scientific, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics Positions, Acquisitions, and Cybersecurity and Related Positions.”

“The purpose of this e-Advisory is to provide the widest dissemination on the Extension and Amendment of Government-wide Direct Hire Appointing Authority for STEM, Acquisitions, and Cybersecurity Positions,” the memo states.

“Direct Hire Authority (DHA) is an appointing authority that allows federal agencies to expedite the hiring process for positions where there is a critical hiring need or severe shortage of candidates. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has extended and amended the Government-wide Direct Hire Authority (DHA) for critical STEM, acquisitions, and cybersecurity roles, allowing expedited hiring for positions with severe candidate shortages. This authority supports the Department of the Air Force’s (DAF) goal to attract top talent to key mission-critical roles. OPM has identified STEM, acquisitions, and cybersecurity roles as critical hiring needs, warranting the extension of direct hiring authorities to streamline recruitment and reduce hiring timelines. New amendments to the DHA also expand coverage to include criminal investigation and data science positions at specific grade levels. This hiring flexibility enables federal agencies to bypass standard competitive procedures to fill positions urgently needed for federal operations.”

The memorandum states that under the updated authorities, “individuals may be appointed to competitive service career, career-conditional, term, or temporary position, without applying veterans’ preference and competitive rating and ranking procedures at the grade levels.”

A source from the U.S. Air Force told American Greatness:

“This is government-wide hiring has ramped up like never before seen. They are literally packing the federal workforce with as many loyalists and subversives as they can. Worst of all, they think it is their duty to do so.”

He added:

“Since DEI is getting pettifogged rather harshly (and rightly so) this is yet another way they can worm into the bureaucracy—at the expense of veterans.”

The source told American Greatness that “veterans are being cast aside for this new workforce (wokeforce).”

Tab 1_DCPAS Message 2024115 – Extension of the Government-wide Direct Hire Appointing Authority for STEM Positions, Acquisitions, and Cybersecurity and Related Positions

Tab 2_DCPAS Hiring Authorities Matrix -Updated October 2024

Tab 3 Supplement Guidance – OPM Extension and Amendment of DHA for STEM Positions Aquisitions and Cybersecurity and Related Positions (1)