H.R. 6558: END the DEEP STATE Act

This bill requires the Office of Personnel Management to withdraw the proposed rule titled Upholding Civil Service Protections and Merit System Principles and published on September 18, 2023. The bill also prohibits further action to finalize, implement, or enforce the same or a substantially similar rule.

The proposed rule addresses civil service protections for federal employees. Among other things, the proposed rule

• provides that federal employees shall not lose their status or civil service protections when they involuntarily leave the competitive service to enter the excepted service or move between positions in the excepted service;
• establishes related procedures that apply when moving to these positions; and
• specifies that the phrase confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating, which is used to describe certain positions that are excepted from civil service protections, is intended to apply to noncareer, political appointments.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.