Federal Workforce Data: Improvements Needed to Increase Transparency of Information on Senior Policy and Supporting Positions
Fast Facts
The public needs information about political appointees and other senior federal officials to understand who is accountable for key policy decisions. The PLUM Reporting website, managed by the Office of Personnel Management, is a primary source of information on these senior officials.
We reviewed the quality of the website data. We found some agencies and positions were missing, and that other required information wasn't reported correctly. This could make it more difficult for the public to understand data on the website.
We recommended OPM collect missing data, ensure it's reported accurately, and more.
Computer screen displaying the PLUM Reporting website homepage.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Periodically Listing Updates to Management (PLUM) Reporting website, maintained by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), publishes data on politically appointed and career senior positions for all executive branch agencies and certain legislative branch agencies. As of July 2025, the website reported information on 10,540 positions across 171 federal entities (including agencies, boards, commissions, and other organizations).
GAO found that although OPM had procedures in place to help ensure the quality of data published on the website, the data did not include all elements required by the act. For example, GAO found at least seven federal entities were missing from the data, as well as at least 130 presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed positions. Additionally, unique identifier numbers used for tracking appointees’ movement within the federal workforce were not applied consistently in the data. GAO also found instances of errors and inconsistencies in the data, such as duplicative positions. Complete and accurate data would help Congress and the public identify and track individuals holding senior positions.
Example of a Duplicative Position on the 2025 PLUM Reporting Website
GAO found that the PLUM Reporting website, and OPM’s efforts to implement the website, only partially addressed three key practices for transparently reporting government data and certain relevant statutory requirements. GAO found:
- OPM did not proactively engage members of the public to solicit information on how they used and valued the website.
- OPM has not yet made the PLUM Reporting data available through its agency data inventory, though it has plans in place to do so.
- OPM did not fully describe the data and their known limitations.
Non-governmental stakeholders cited concerns with the website including data timeliness, missing positions or errors, and a lack of potentially useful information. Stakeholders also suggested ways to make the website more valuable to users. By better engaging users and publicizing data quality limitations, OPM can improve the usefulness of the PLUM Reporting website and the data’s value as a transparency tool.
Why GAO Did This Study
Information about the federal government’s senior leaders is a critical tool for the public and Congress to understand who is serving in roles with significant decision-making authority and improve oversight. The PLUM Act of 2022 required OPM to establish a website, referred to as the PLUM Reporting website, to report data on senior positions. The act includes provisions for GAO to review implementation of the act.
This report reviews (1) actions OPM took to ensure federal entities reported data on senior positions that met relevant quality requirements, and (2) the extent to which the PLUM Reporting website addressed key practices for transparently reporting government data and relevant statutes.
GAO analyzed PLUM Reporting data for potential errors and compared data against other information on senior political appointees. GAO reviewed OPM documents and interviewed OPM officials about their efforts to ensure data quality. GAO also interviewed eight stakeholders from academia and civil society organizations about their experience using the website and data. Finally, GAO assessed the website against GAO criteria for data transparency.
Recommendations
GAO is making seven recommendations for OPM to improve the usefulness of the website by implementing a process to identify missing reportable positions, making technical changes to ensure unique identifier numbers are applied consistently, and developing a process for engaging the public, among other recommendations. OPM concurred with the recommendations and described ongoing and planned actions to address them.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Personnel Management | The Director of OPM should develop and implement a process that provides reasonable assurance that reportable positions are included in the PLUM data. This may include such actions as consulting with the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and reviewing other sources of information, such as prior Plum Books, Congress.gov, our Vacancies Database, or Congressional Research Service publications listing Presidential appointees requiring Senate confirmation. (Recommendation 1) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Office of Personnel Management | The Director of OPM should implement appropriate technical changes to ESCS and the PLUM Reporting website to ensure each individual in the PLUM data is assigned one unique identifier number that is specific to that individual. (Recommendation 2) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Office of Personnel Management | The Director of OPM should incorporate automated data validations or other controls into ESCS, such as spell-check functions which alert agencies to potential errors in their data submissions. (Recommendation 3) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Office of Personnel Management | The Director of OPM should document a timeline and implement updates to the PLUM Reporting website and downloadable data file to ensure information on acting officials and officials performing the duties of a vacant position displayed on the PLUM Reporting website is also included in the downloadable data file. (Recommendation 4) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Office of Personnel Management | The Director of OPM should document a timeline and implement updates to the PLUM Reporting website and downloadable data file to ensure that the unique identifier numbers displayed on the PLUM Reporting website are included with the downloadable data file. (Recommendation 5) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Office of Personnel Management | The Director of OPM should develop a process for engaging with the public on ways to improve the usefulness of the PLUM Reporting website. The process could include providing the public with opportunities to request specific data and resources to help the public use the data and following through on its plans to add a link to the PLUM Reporting website on OPM's data inventory and the Federal Data Catalogue, as required under the OPEN Government Data Act. (Recommendation 6) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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| Office of Personnel Management | The Director of OPM should disclose information about known data limitations in a prominent and easily accessible location on the PLUM Reporting website. (Recommendation 7) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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