Trump picks candidate to lead OPM
Dale Cabaniss, a former chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, is set to take over as the federal government's top human resources official.
President Donald Trump selected Dale Cabaniss to serve as director of the Office of Personnel Management. If confirmed by the Senate, Cabaniss would replace acting Director Margaret Weichert, who has been heading OPM since the departure of Jeff Tien Han Pon last October.
Cabaniss served as chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority during the George W. Bush administration. She joined the FLRA as a member in 1997 during the Clinton administration. Since leaving FLRA, she served as Republican staff director of the Financial Services and General Government subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations committee between 2010 and 2018.
The FLRA administers labor relations for approximately 2.1 million federal employees. At the top of the agency, a three-person board has judicial authority over unfair labor practices cases. The chairperson also serves as the head of the agency. At the time Cabaniss served, FLRA had a staff of about 215 full time employees and a budget of $30 million. OPM is a much larger agency, with a $300 million budget and more than 6,200 employees.