	Introduction

Shortly following his confirmation as Secretary of State in April 2018, Secretary Mike Pompeo lifted the hiring freeze that former Secretary Rex Tillerson left in place for over a year. Subsequent guidance issued after the hiring freeze indicates that the department intends to increase Foreign and Civil Service personnel levels in a manner consistent with the language and funding Congress included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 ( P.L. 115-141 ). The Trump Administration has taken additional actions affecting Department of State personnel, including designing "keystone modernization projects" within its Leadership and Modernization Impact Initiative. These projects seek to strengthen workforce readiness and enhance performance management and employee accountability, among other goals. The State Department is also prioritizing efforts to address long-standing concerns regarding the perceived lack of diversity in the Foreign Service. The Trump Administration has moved more slowly than previous Administrations in transmitting nominations for senior Department of State positions to the Senate for advice and consent; meanwhile, the Senate has taken longer than it has in the past to provide advice and consent for many of those nominations that have been transmitted. Since his confirmation, Secretary Pompeo has pledged that he will work to enable the Department of State to play a central role in implementing President Trump's agenda and protecting the national security of the United States, empower the department's personnel in their roles, and ensure that department personnel have a clear understanding of the President's mission. While the President possesses a level of control over personnel policies at the Department of State, Congress has demonstrated interest in leveraging its constitutional and statutory prerogatives to shape the department's personnel policies since at least the mid-19 th century, when it codified compensation levels for individuals appointed to certain diplomatic and consular positions. More recently, passage of the landmark Foreign Service Act of 1980 ( P.L. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 ( P.L. 95-454 ), as amended, provides the modern statutory framework for the Civil Service. In addition to combining the U.S. diplomatic and consular services for the first time and establishing the modern Foreign Service, the Rogers Act of 1924 (P.L. Furthermore, this law
established grades and classes of Foreign Service Officers and established salaries for those grades and classes; stated that appointments to the position of Foreign Service Officer shall be made after examination and a suitable period of probation in an unclassified grade, or after five years of continuous service in the Department of State by transfer to the Foreign Service upon meeting the rules and regulations established by the President; established that all appointments to the Foreign Service shall be by commission to a class and not by commission to any particular post, and that a Foreign Service Officer shall be assigned to a post and may be transferred by the President from post to post depending upon the interests of the service; stated that Foreign Service Officers may be appointed as secretaries in the diplomatic service or as consular officers or both and that any such appointment shall be made by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and authorized the President to establish a Foreign Service retirement and disability system to be administered by the Secretary of State, and provided for a mandatory retirement age of 65 with 15 years of service. 96-465 ) was enacted. Civil Service Personnel

The Department of State employed over 10,000 Civil Service (CS) employees as of December 2017. Congressional Responses and Options

Congress has weighed in on early aspects of the Department of State's redesign effort and its potential impacts on Department of State personnel. Some Members of Congress and others questioned the Trump Administration's efforts to reduce Department of State personnel levels. If Congress sought to impel the Department of State to further increase hiring, it could consider appropriating more funds to the Human Resources category of the department's Diplomatic & Consular Programs account, which is used to pay salaries for the department's domestic and overseas American employees. Congressional Responses and Options

The Senate has the authority, pursuant to Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, to provide advice and consent for presidential appointments of ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls. Congress could also address other personnel issues through legislation.
Current Context and Recent Developments
Shortly after his confirmation as Secretary of State in April 2018, Secretary Mike Pompeo lifted the hiring freeze that former Secretary Rex Tillerson left in place for over a year. Guidance issued after Secretary Pompeo's action indicates that the department intends to increase Foreign and Civil Service personnel levels in a manner consistent with the language and funding Congress included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141). The Trump Administration has taken additional actions affecting Department of State personnel, including designing "keystone modernization projects" within its Leadership and Modernization Impact Initiative. These projects seek to strengthen workforce readiness and enhance performance management and employee accountability, among other goals. The State Department is also prioritizing efforts to address long-standing concerns regarding the perceived lack of diversity in the Foreign Service.
The Trump Administration has moved more slowly than previous Administrations in transmitting nominations for senior Department of State positions to the Senate for advice and consent; meanwhile, the Senate has taken longer than it has in the past to provide advice and consent for many of those nominations that have been transmitted.
Some Members of Congress and other observers have expressed varying levels of concern with some of these developments, with some arguing that the Trump Administration (especially under former Secretary Tillerson) had been purposefully attempting to weaken the Department of State and diminish its influence in developing and implementing U.S. foreign policy. Secretary Pompeo pledged that he will work to enable the Department of State to play a central role in implementing President Trump's agenda and protecting the national security of the United States, while empowering the department's personnel in their roles.
The Role of Congress in History and Today
The 115th Congress has demonstrated interest in applying the legislative branch's constitutional and statutory authorities to shape policies pertaining to Department of State personnel. Some congressional prerogatives date back to the 18th century: Congress established the Department of State and began prescribing salaries for personnel in 1789, while Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution provides the Senate the authority to provide advice and consent for presidential appointments of ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls. The role of Congress expanded more gradually elsewhere. The executive branch maintained almost exclusive authority in developing the administrative policies governing the U.S. diplomatic and consular services and their personnel until the mid-19th century, when Congress codified compensation levels for individuals appointed to certain diplomatic and consular positions. Congressional purview over this area has subsequently expanded considerably, as Congress merged the diplomatic and consular services into a Foreign Service with the passage of the Rogers Act of 1924 (P.L. 68-135) and later modernized and refined the Foreign Service's policies and procedures through the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-465).
The Department of State's Foreign Affairs Manual describes several categories of Foreign Service personnel at the Department of State. Many of these categories, or the authorities afforded to personnel employed within them, are provided through statute. In addition, the Department of State employed over 10,000 Civil Service (CS) employees as of December 2017, who work in 11 different job categories. Congress has long had a significant role in the administration of the Civil Service, whose framework is now defined in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-454), as amended.
Looking Ahead
While the President possesses a level of control over executive branch personnel policies, several options are available to the 115th Congress and future Congresses to facilitate, alter, block, or conduct oversight of the executive branch's initiatives. These include legislative action through Department of State or foreign relations authorization measures and annual appropriations bills or other measures, as well as periodic hearings on management and reform issues. On personnel issues, for example, Congress could encourage the Department of State to further increase hiring with additional appropriated funds to the Human Resources category of the department's Diplomatic & Consular Programs account, which is used to pay salaries for the department's domestic and overseas American employees. Congress could also weigh in on the department's plans to improve workforce management, or consider changes to aspects of the presidential appointments process.