The Defense Department has begun bringing on civilian employees through the Trump administration’s new strategic hiring committees, raising questions about their impact on the defense workforce so far.

Four committees have sprung up across the department to vet new workers, including one in each of the three military service departments and one that covers the Office of the Secretary of Defense and other defense agencies, according to a DoD spokesperson. But their work is largely shrouded in secrecy nearly one year after President Donald Trump mandated the committees’ creation in an executive order last October.

“Nobody really knows what’s happening, and agencies are still figuring out how to make this work,” said Jenny Mattingley, vice president for public policy and stakeholder engagement at the Partnership for Public Service.

DoD hired more than 29,000 civilians in the eight months that followed the order’s enactment, according to the most recent federal data that runs through June.

That includes nearly 7,400 Air Force and Space Force employees since the hiring committee launched in January, plus about 3,000 workers in the Army, which created its panel in March. 

Another 9,300 or so joined OSD and other defense agencies between October and June; nearly 7,300 went to the Navy and Marine Corps. Officials declined to answer when OSD and the Department of the Navy established their respective committees. 

It’s unclear how many of those new hires were routed through the committees themselves, how the panels shaped their consideration, or how many applicants were rejected. It’s also difficult to tell whether the committees are handling new hires at all levels of the civilian workforce, or only certain groups — including roles now classified as Schedule Policy/Career.

The Pentagon’s committees “oversee and approve civilian personnel actions in line with merit-based practices and critical agency needs,” the DoD spokesperson said.

Trump’s executive order directed federal agencies to establish committees of senior officials that would approve new positions and allow offices to fill existing jobs. The panels would ensure that new hires are in line with “the national interest, agency needs and the priorities of my administration,” Trump wrote.

That deviates from the usual process of relying on lower-level officials and program offices to decide what kinds of jobs they need and whether candidates are a good fit.

“This idea that every hire would be overseen by a political appointee … gives political control at much deeper levels than is typical,” Mattingley said.

For instance, the Department of the Air Force’s panel is composed of senior leaders from its top personnel, comptroller, acquisition and legal offices, an Air Force official told Federal News Network. The committee meets every two to four weeks to consider individual hiring requests as well as proposals to exempt certain types of employees from the administration’s hiring freeze. It also reviews the department’s fiscal 2026 annual staffing plan.

The official declined to answer how many new hires the department has made or what types of jobs the committee is exempting.

“The United States Space Force is actively growing its civilian force to meet increased mission demands defending the space domain,” the official said. “A categorical hiring exemption was approved enabling USSF to hire with speed and precision.”

An Army spokesperson said the service’s committee gave blanket approval to hire for “critical occupations” supporting operational missions and the industrial base, but did not elaborate further.

The Department of the Navy did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

“In coordination with the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget, these Committees ensure that the Department can continue to recruit, retain, and deploy the talent required to achieve peace through strength,” the DoD spokesperson said.

Still, the committees haven’t substantially increased hires across the military so far. About 23,500 civilians joined DoD in the first six months of 2026, compared to nearly 19,000 who were hired or transferred in during the same period last year, federal data shows.

The department’s civilian workforce has continued to shrink despite those gains, hovering around 685,000 employees as of May.

Mattingley cautioned that adding a new layer of oversight into the hiring process can become inefficient and distracting for leaders who should be focusing on high-level strategy, spending and workforce needs, rather than individual jobs.

“If hiring is happening at the level at which it normally did … that could become a de facto hiring freeze in some ways, if these committees can only approve or oversee a certain amount of or a certain volume of hires,” Mattingley said.

Asked whether its committee has slowed hiring so far, the Army spokesperson said the service has procedures in place to expedite approvals and limit potential delays.

The issue has gained some attention on Capitol Hill as well. Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee, asked military personnel officials at an April hearing whether the new committees are working.

“Bureaucratic delays and incompetence in implementing flawed personnel policies have left military personnel performing sometimes two or three jobs while the positions are being routed through strategic hiring committees,” Houlahan said.

Still, strategic-level staffing committees can help federal agencies answer whether they have the skills and talent needed to reach their long-term goals — a common practice at most private companies that is worth making permanent in government, Mattingley said.

She worries the current boards may instead hire to appease political desires rather than fill vacancies in the most pressing missions.

“I think we’ll see more of agencies feeling that pressure of not being able to fill positions that are critical, but not priorities,” Mattingley said.

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