The new rule went live for public comment on Monday morning

The Trump administration has rolled out a new rule with the aim of making it easier to terminate federal employees for serious misconduct by cutting through the red tape that currently impedes that process. 

“The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing amendments to the Federal Government personnel vetting adjudicative processes for determining suitability and taking suitability actions,” the rule, which went live for public comment on Monday morning, states. 

“The purpose of the proposed rule is to improve the efficiency, rigor and timeliness by which OPM and agencies vet individuals for risk to the integrity and efficiency of the service, and to make clear that individuals who engage in serious misconduct while employed in Federal service are subject to the same suitability procedures and actions as applicants for employment.”

OPM says its new rule is part of President Trump’s “Implementing the Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative” as well as the Presidential Memorandum, “Strengthening the Suitability and Fitness of the Federal Workforce.”