FOIA request process at OPM hampered by staff cuts and portal failures
The Office of Personnel Management's FOIA office has been crippled by massive staff reductions, leading to long backlogs and a broken online request portal.
A frequent FOIA requester reports that obtaining staff lists from the Trump administrations has become increasingly difficult after the Office of Personnel Management's public records office was gutted by extensive layoffs. Data shows more than 600 government information specialists have resigned or been dismissed since the start of the second Trump administration, with OPM alone losing 12 staff members. Consequently, the agency's backlog swelled to over 1,600 pending requests, a sevenfold increase from the prior fiscal year, and the average processing time for simple requests exceeded 84 days.
The OPM online portal repeatedly displayed error messages, prompting users to contact a defunct email address and then the National FOIA Portal. A contractor, Opexus, eventually fixed the portal after a support ticket opened on July 10, but the issue highlighted the fragility of the system. The requester remains awaiting the desired records.
Why it matters
FOIA delays hinder public access to government information, reducing transparency and accountability.
In this story