President-elect Donald Trump has announced plans to nominate a new leader for the Office of Personnel Management.

On Sunday evening, Trump’s team shared in a press email that Scott Kupor, currently a managing partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, is the planned pick for OPM director in Trump’s second term.

“Scott will bring much needed reform to our federal workforce,” Trump said in a statement on Sunday.

Prior to his current role at Andreessen Horowitz, Kupor served as chairman of the National Venture Capital Association from 2014 to 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile. Kupor has also worked as vice president and general manager of technology company Hewlett-Packard (HP) and held various other executive management roles in the private sector. Based on his company biography and LinkedIn profile, he has not worked in the public sector. It’s unclear if he has direct experience managing a human resources organization.

Kupor graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in public policy with honors and distinction. He also holds a law degree with distinction from Stanford University and is a member of the State Bar of California.

If the Senate confirms him, Kupor will take up the top political leadership position at OPM. Rob Shriver currently serves as acting director of OPM under the Biden administration. Shriver, previously OPM’s deputy director, stepped into the top leadership position after Kiran Ahuja resigned from the role in April. Ahuja was a Biden appointee, and the Senate confirmed her in 2021. She is the longest-serving permanent director OPM has had since 2015.

Just one day after Trump’s announcement, it’s unclear what Kupor’s priorities would be while leading OPM. But with Trump’s campaign promises to dismantle what he has described as the “deep state” in government, it’s likely Kupor will be central to Trump’s plans for reviving Schedule F and other major goals for streamlining the federal workforce.

Kupor may also take up the mantle on a handful of longstanding priorities that have transcended presidential administrations, such as modernizing retirement services and reforming the federal recruitment process.

Kupor would inherit a much different OPM than what existed in Trump’s first term, as the Biden administration increased the size of the agency’s workforce and budget. For 2025, OPM requested $465.8 million from Congress, up from $414 million in 2024 and $385.7 million in 2023.  OPM currently has 3,193 full-time employees and would like to see its workforce grow to 3,351 in 2025. The agency had 2,680 employees in 2023.

Trump’s plan for a nominee for OPM director is one of more than 110 appointee announcements he has made so far for his coming administration. The pace of Trump’s planned selections is more than double that of President Joe Biden in the same timeframe. The previous three administrations had announced an average of 50 appointments by this point in time, according to the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service.

“President-elect Trump’s speedy announcements of intended nominations is like the airline pilot who takes off quickly by skipping the safety checklist,” Partnership President and CEO Max Stier said in a statement. “FBI background checks and financial conflict-of-interest reviews by the Office of Government ethics are traditionally done before announcements, but this has not been the process adopted by the Trump team.”

The Senate requires the completion of both an FBI background check and a conflict-of-interest review before holding a confirmation hearing.

Stier said those checks are “now more important than ever.”

Copyright © 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.