Office of Personnel Management chief to leave Biden administration

The head of the agency that oversees the federal government’s workforce plans to step down in the coming weeks, she said in an interview with POLITICO.

Office of Personnel Management Director Kiran Ahuja said she plans to depart in early May to deal with an ongoing health concern and following a recent death in the family.

“I was, from the day of being nominated, very intent on wanting to serve the president well through this term, and that was a commitment that I had made,” Ahuja said. “But I think at times, as they say, life intervenes.”

She added that she is not leaving for a position outside the administration.

“It [took] a lot for me to leave … it is really, truly these personal extenuating circumstances,” she said.

In 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Ahuja, who previously served as OPM’s chief of staff, to the top job at the agency, which is informally referred to as the H.R. department for the government’s 2.2 million civil servants.

She narrowly squeaked through the Senate confirmation process that June, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote, after Republicans opposed her due to concerns over her support for critical race theory.

Ahuja’s role will be filled on an acting basis by Deputy Director Rob Shriver, according to the Biden administration.

Compared to his immediate predecessors, Biden has enjoyed relative stability within his cabinet and other high-ranking leadership positions.

However, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge resigned in March and POLITICO reported last week that Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is exploring a 2026 run for governor of California — portending additional turnover if Biden wins a second term this fall.

The announcement of Ahuja’s impending departure comes less than two weeks after OPM rolled out its signature achievement under Biden — a set of rules aimed at preventing a revival of the Trump administration's planned Schedule F or other similar policies that jeopardize the suite of protections afforded to civil service employees in the federal government.

OPM was also tasked with overseeing Biden’s $15 minimum wage for federal employees, and took steps to reduce barriers for job applicants by barring agencies from asking about workers’ criminal records or compensation history outside the federal government.

The agency also put the finishing touches earlier this week on a revamp of the rules for the government’s internships and early-career programs, the first since 2012.

Additionally, OPM has worked to capitalize on recent mass layoffs in the tech industry and lure highly skilled workers to the government, as well as launched other diversity-related initiatives to attract workers.

“Our ability to continue to do better around hiring and recruiting and retaining [workers] has been a big focus for the agency,” Ahuja said.

The Biden administration viewed Ahuja as a steady hand needed to rebuild trust with federal employee unions unnerved by past tumult at OPM and former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overhaul the government workforce — including an abortive effort to eliminate OPM and fold its functions into the General Services Administration and White House.

“Director Ahuja’s passion for public service shines through every single day, inspiring those around her and serving as a model for leaders across the federal government,” Jason Miller, the deputy director for management at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, said in a statement.

Less glowingly under Ahuja, OPM faced criticism from congressional lawmakers over the agency’s hiring of two top officials who had faced accusations of harassing behavior at previous positions, as well as the agency’s policing of federal health benefits to thwart costly fraud.