Democrats, Advocacy Groups Pan Order Moving Administrative Judges Out of Competitive Service

President Trump’s executive order giving broader latitude to agency heads in hiring administrative law judges drew swift opposition from advocacy groups and Democrats in Congress Wednesday. The order, signed Tuesday, pulls ALJs out of the competitive service, where candidates are vetted by the Office of Personnel Management, and moves them into the excepted service, where agency heads are able to set their own criteria for hiring. The White House said the edict is needed to avoid litigation in the aftermath of the Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission Supreme Court decision and that it would not affect existing removal procedures or protections that allow ALJs to remain independent.