Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, WHITE HOUSE NEWS—Trump orders elimination of Federal Executive Institute, (Feb 12, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:Office of Personnel Management | Senior Executives Association | University of Virginia
By Jonathan Anderson
The White House said the move was part of the administration’s efforts to cut costs.
On February 10, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to shutter the Federal Executive Institute, a professional development training center for federal government managers and employees.
The order directs the Office of Personnel Management, which operates the institute, to take all necessary steps to eliminate it.
In a fact sheet, the White House said closing the institute was part of Trump’s efforts to cut government spending.
“Eliminating the Federal Executive Institute is part of President Trump’s broader mission to reform the federal bureaucracy, including by ending ineffective government programs that drain resources and empower government without achieving measurable results,” the fact sheet states.
Over 50-year history. The institute was founded in 1968 at the direction of President Lyndon B. Johnson under authority of the Government Employees Training Act of 1958, according to the Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association.
Since then, more than 30,000 federal workers have participated in the organization’s training programs, according to its website. The institute offers development programs for senior leaders and executives and customized programs for teams, groups, and organizations. Skill-building courses for individuals and non-supervisors are also offered, such as courses on decision making, conflict management, project management, and time management.
Critical leadership skills. “With more than 50 years of experience in leadership development, our curriculum challenges individuals to cultivate the skills, attitudes, and behaviors critical to dynamic and transformational public-sector leadership,” the institute’s website states. “Built upon foundational public service values and competencies, our programs support federal leaders in understanding their role within the government’s constitutional framework. By encouraging introspection through small group work, participants build learning communities, where everyone is both a teacher and learner.”
The institute, based in Charlottesville, Virginia, near the University of Virginia campus, includes a director, resident faculty members, and adjunct faculty, according to its website.
Jason Briefel, director of policy and outreach at the Senior Executives Association, told Federal News Network that there remains a need for leadership training in the federal government.
“The question, more broadly, for the administration, is what is their plan for senior career leadership or for senior leadership in general? Where do they expect folks to be trained? Do they have a vision that this is just an innate ability that certain people have and others don’t? Even if you’re just building a followership based model of saluting and following orders, you still need to train your execution layer. You still need to bring them on board with the program,” Briefel told the news outlet.
News: WhiteHouseNews AgencyNews PublicEmployees IndustryNewsTrends