Trump Names Two Federal Pay Raise Advisers
After nearly a year of inaction, White House begins reconstitution of the Federal Salary Council.
President Trump announced Wednesday that he plans to appoint two people to the board tasked with reviewing how much of a raise federal employees should receive based on where they live, ending almost a year of inaction on the issue.
Trump named veteran federal personnel official Ron Sanders to serve as the chairman of the Federal Salary Council, which each year recommends changes to the government’s locality pay table for the White House to consider. Veteran Republican staffer Katja Bullock also was named to the council.
Sanders has a long career dealing with federal personnel issues. During the George W. Bush administration, he was associate director for HR policy at the Office of Personnel Management, and from 2005 until 2010 he was chief human capital officer for the Office of the Director of National intelligence.
Since leaving government, Sanders was a vice president and fellow at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he provided consulting services on organizational and personnel issues. In August, he became the director and clinical professor for the University of South Florida’s School of Public Affairs.
Bullock also has a long career in federal personnel issues. She is a special assistant to President Trump and the associate director of presidential personnel, a job she has held in each Republican White House since the Reagan administration. Before joining the Trump administration, she held a similar post for GOP Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
In the past, the Federal Salary Council was made up of six members, along with one designated federal officer. The news of Trump’s appointments comes a week after observers and former members noted that the council had not yet been reconstituted since Trump’s inauguration.
Although two new members have been announced for the council, it is unclear if and when other stakeholders will be appointed or reappointed. Former members have said the White House likely will rely on last year’s locality pay table when it finalizes a 2018 raise for federal civilian employees, since there is not enough time for a new table to go through the regulatory approval process.