Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens independence, oversight, and reduces conflicts by barring dual-role acting appointments, but that gain comes with reduced staffing flexibility, potential delays in agency response, and modest additional administrative costs.
Federal employees and the offices they lead (e.g., OPM, OGE, OSC, Archivist) will no longer hold or perform another Federal position simultaneously, reducing conflicts of interest and divided attention and improving impartiality in agency actions.
Federal employees and taxpayers will see stronger oversight and accountability because the bill makes it harder for senior officials to accumulate multiple roles, reducing opportunities to evade scrutiny.
Independent and oversight offices (like OPM, OGE, OSC, Archivist) will be better protected from presidential stacking because the bill restricts use of 5 U.S.C. 3345(a) to appoint multiple acting officials, helping preserve independent office functions.
Federal agencies and employees may face slower decision-making because fewer senior officials will be eligible to serve in acting dual roles, making it harder to fill short-term vacancies quickly.
The President and agency leaders will have less flexibility to respond to unexpected vacancies, which could delay urgent national-security or emergency actions that previously relied on acting dual-assignments.
Taxpayers could face higher administrative costs as agencies may need to hire or appoint additional officials instead of relying on temporary dual-role coverage.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars Executive Schedule level I officers and civil‑service acting officials from simultaneously occupying or performing the duties of any other federal position.
Official title: To prohibit certain senior Federal officers or acting officers from carrying out the duties of other Federal positions, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 11, 2026 by Yassamin Ansari · Last progress February 11, 2026
Prohibits senior officials who are serving temporarily in an acting capacity from simultaneously holding or performing the duties of any other Federal position. The change amends several provisions in Titles 5 and 44 of the U.S. Code to bar dual-hatting for principal officers and civil‑service acting leaders (including OPM Director, Special Counsel, OGE Director, Archivist, and any Executive Schedule level I post), and it limits the President’s ability to direct an acting official to perform the functions of another vacant office when they already serve as an acting head elsewhere.