in effect
Executive Order 14356, signed October 15, 2025, is a presidential directive that places a near-total freeze on filling vacant federal civilian jobs and creating new ones. It replaces an earlier hiring freeze memorandum and establishes a formal, ongoing approval structure to govern who gets hired across the executive branch going forward.
No vacant federal civilian position may be filled and no new position may be created unless this order specifically allows it — agencies cannot act on their own. Each agency must stand up a Strategic Hiring Committee within 30 days, chaired by the deputy agency head and chief of staff, which must formally approve every hire and notify the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in writing. Within 60 days, every agency must produce an Annual Staffing Plan coordinated with OPM and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), identifying only the highest-need roles aligned with administration priorities; those plans must be updated quarterly starting in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. Agencies are also explicitly barred from using outside contractors to work around the intent of the freeze. A joint OMB/OPM report on the order’s implementation is due to the President within 180 days.
Federal agencies across the executive branch — and the career civil servants, hiring managers, and HR offices within them — are directly subject to the new approval requirements and planning mandates. The restrictions do not apply to political appointees, Senate-confirmed officials, Senior Executive Service non-career positions, Schedule C/G employees, military personnel, or positions in immigration enforcement, national security, and public safety, so those hiring pipelines continue unaffected. The order also explicitly states it cannot be used to interrupt delivery of Social Security, Medicare, or veterans’ benefits.