Interior shuffles several senior career staffers

The Interior Department has recently shuffled at least 25 senior career staffers, giving them different roles at the department that oversees the nation’s public lands, parks and other resources, a source familiar told The Hill.

The employees who were shuffled to new positions at the department belong to the senior executive service (SES), a group of highly experienced upper-level officials who are career staffers rather than political appointees.

The specific reasons for the shuffle are not entirely clear. Reached for comment, an Interior Department spokesperson said that while it does not comment on individual personnel matters, “SES reassignments are a routine management tool used across administrations.”

“The Department continues to align senior leadership and resources to best support its mission, improve organizational effectiveness and deliver results for the American people,” said the spokesperson, who did not sign their name to the email.

The Trump administration has repeatedly sought to make changes to the federal workforce — and in particular has sought to downsize it.

Last fall, Interior considered cutting hundreds of jobs , though the widespread cuts it floated at the time did not appear to come to fruition.