Jeff Baran, a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, failed to secure enough support in the Senate to keep his job when his term expired in June 2023, but he found another job in the federal bureaucracy and stuck around long enough to take the buyout offer under the Trump administration.

While presidents appoint more than 3,000 people for political positions, the federal government directly employs roughly 2.3 million people, most of whom serve in purportedly nonpolitical, career positions. The Office of Personnel Management tracks when political appointees transition to career positions—a process often referred to as “burrowing in” to the bureaucracy—and Baran did so last year.

OPM approved on Sept. 8, 2024, Baran’s transition from a commissioner on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to become deputy assistant secretary for waste and minerals management at the Department of Energy. He went from making $165,300 annually to $193,819 annually.

Baran took President Donald Trump’s offer of “deferred resignation,” which allows bureaucrats to receive their paychecks through Sept. 30 without doing any work, as an incentive to leave the government early. Exchange Monitor reported on Feb. 20 that Baran accepted the offer.

Baran is likely to receive his paycheck for about 7 months without doing work, costing the taxpayer approximately $113,061.08.

The Biden White House renominated Baran to the Nuclear Regulatory........

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