I'm counting on plain old incompetence to limit the amount of damage
done by most of Trump's appointees.
You misspelled Senior Executive Service.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senior_Executive_Service_(United_States)
The Senior Executive Service (SES)[1] is a position classification in
the United States federal civil service equivalent to general officer or
flag officer rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. It was created in 1979 when
the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 went into effect under President
Jimmy Carter.[2]
Characteristics
According to the Office of Personnel Management, the SES was designed to
be a corps of executives selected for their leadership qualifications,
serving in key positions just below the top presidential appointees as a
link between them and the rest of the federal (civil service) workforce.
SES positions are considered to be above the GS-15 level of the General
Schedule, and below Level III of the Executive Schedule. Career members
of the SES ranks are eligible for the Presidential Rank Awards
program.[citation needed]
Up to 10% of SES positions can be filled as political appointments
rather than by career employees.[3] About half of the SES is designated
"Career Reserved", which can only be filled by career employees. The
other half is designated "General", which can be filled by either career
employees or political appointments as desired by the administration.
Due to the 10% limitation, most General positions are still filled by
career appointees.[4]
Senior level employees of several agencies are exempt from the SES but
have their own senior executive positions; these include the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, Defense
Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Transportation Security
Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Government
Accountability Office, Members of the Foreign Service, and government
corporations.
Adverse actions
SES career appointees have civil service protections; they may only be
fired or suspended for more than 14 days for misconduct, neglect of
duty, malfeasance, or failure to accept a directed reassignment or to
accompany a position in a transfer of function. These adverse actions
may be appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board.[5]
An SES career appointee can also be reassigned within the SES, or from
the SES into a competitive service position, based on performance
ratings. A single unsatisfactory performance rating makes them eligible
for reassignment, though it is not mandatory. However, they must be
removed from the SES if they receive two unsatisfactory ratings in a
period of five consecutive years, or two less than fully successful
ratings within three consecutive years. Reassignments may not be
appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board.[5]
SES career appointees in the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs have different procedures as a result of the Department of
Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of
2017. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has discretion to suspend,
demote, remove, or take other actions against SES career appointees or
other high-level executives if the Secretary determines that the
individual’s misconduct or performance warrants such action, with
abbreviated notice and appeals rights.[5]
By contrast, noncareer and limited-term SES appointees are generally not
subject to removal protections and may be removed from the SES at any
time.[5]
Pay rates
(Effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning
on or after January 1, 2024)[6]
Minimum Maximum
Agencies with a Certified SES Performance Appraisal System $147,649 $221,900
Agencies without a Certified SES Performance Appraisal System $147,649
$204,000
Unlike the General Schedule (GS) grades, SES pay is determined at agency
discretion within certain parameters, and there is no locality pay
adjustment.
The minimum pay level for the SES is set at 120 percent of the basic pay
for GS-15 Step 1 employees ($147,649 for 2024).[7] The maximum pay level
depends on whether or not the employing agency has a "certified" SES
performance appraisal system:[8]
If the agency has a certified system, the maximum pay is set at Level II
of the Executive Schedule ($221,900 for 2024).[6]
If the agency does not have a certified system, the maximum pay is set
at Level III of the Executive Schedule ($204,000 for 2024).[6]
Total aggregate pay is limited to the salary of the Vice President of
the United States ($284,600 for 2024).[6]
Prior to 2004, the SES used a six-level system. It was replaced with the
current open band system on January 1, 2004.[9]
