Treasury May Ease Hiring Freeze at Sanctions Office Amid Senate Prodding
The Treasury Department included its Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) in the Trump administration’s hiring freeze but is now considering giving it relief from the pause due to its national security role, the department told lawmakers.
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Three senators, including Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked Treasury on Feb. 13 whether it had exempted TFI from the freeze (see 2502140043). In its March 7 response, which the lawmakers released late March 10, Treasury said it applied the freeze across the department, including at TFI, and rescinded all job offers for people who didn't have an onboarding date or were scheduled to start after Feb. 8.
However, “Treasury has begun working through a process to utilize the national security exemption for employees in TFI, and other national security functions within the department, where appropriate,” wrote Jonathan Blum, principal deputy assistant secretary of legislative affairs. “Additionally, where a clear exemption from the hiring freeze exists, Treasury has begun a deliberate process of assessing continued interest by candidates to pursue job opportunities within Treasury.”
Warren, Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., ranking member on the Senate Banking Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance, said in a press release that the TFI hiring freeze and the “delays” in resuming hiring at the office are concerning in light of the personnel shortages Treasury outlined in its FY 2025 budget request to Congress. Treasury said it needs more people to assess the economic impact of U.S. sanctions, analyze China’s economy and international financial connections, and meet new cybersecurity requirements.
“Despite these clear needs, Treasury has not only fallen short of accelerating its hiring but actually halted the hiring process, rescinded offers to national security professionals, and failed to implement a sensible plan for allowing that hiring to go forward,” the release says. “These reckless actions jeopardize our economic and national security at a critical time when we face global challenges from countries like China and Russia as well as terrorist financing, drug trafficking, sanctions evasion, and a broad range of other threats.”