(A) not subject to the supervision of a 
principal regional officer or a principal area of-
ficer; and 
(B) specifically designated by the head of 
the agency to serve as the personal representa-
tive of the head of the agency. 
SEC. 3. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Pres-
idential Management Fellows Program, the purpose of 
which is to attract to the Federal service outstanding indi-
viduals from a variety of academic disciplines and career 
paths who have a clear interest in, and commitment to, 
excellence in the leadership and management of public 
policies and programs. 
(b) DIRECTOR RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
(1) NUMBER OF FELLOWS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the Director shall determine the 
number of individuals who will be finalists to be 
appointed as Fellows during any given fiscal 
year, which shall be based on input from the 
Chief Human Capital Officers Council and from 
agencies not represented on that Council. 
(B) INCREASE IN POSITIONS DURING FIS-
CAL YEARS 2026 THROUGH 2031.—During each 
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of fiscal years 2026 through 2031, the Director 
shall ensure that the number of positions for 
Fellows under the Program during the applica-
ble fiscal year is equal to 200 percent of the 
number of positions for Fellows under the Pro-
gram in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year 
in which this Act is enacted, as the Program 
was carried out under subpart D of part 362 of 
title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect 
during that fiscal year. 
(2) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
QUALIFICATIONS.— 
The Director shall establish the qualification re-
quirements for evaluating applicants for the Pro-
gram. 
(c) AGENCY PROCESSES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—After the Director makes 
the determination under subsection (b)(1)(A) with 
respect to a fiscal year, an agency may appoint indi-
viduals selected by the Director as finalists to be 
Fellows according to the short-, medium-, and long- 
term senior leadership and related recruitment, de-
velopment, and succession requirements of the agen-
cy. 
(2) FIELD
LOCATIONS
OUTSIDE
OF
WASH-
INGTON, DC.—An agency that appoints a Fellow to 
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a position in a field location outside of the Wash-
ington, DC metropolitan area may— 
(A) before making the appointment, dis-
cuss whether the candidate would like to do a 
developmental rotation to the headquarters of 
the agency and, if so, make a commitment to 
allow and fund such a rotation, to the max-
imum extent practicable, in accordance with 
section 6(b); and 
(B) promote interaction among regional 
Fellows with the agency Federal Executive 
Board and permit that Fellow to attend activi-
ties sanctioned by that Federal Executive 
Board in that region. 
SEC. 4. ANNOUNCEMENT, ELIGIBILITY, AND SELECTION. 
(a) ANNOUNCEMENT.—The Director shall annually 
announce the ability to apply for the Program and conduct 
a competition for the selection of finalists, as set forth in 
this section. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 
(1) APPLICATION PERIOD.—To apply for par-
ticipation in the Program, an individual shall— 
(A) have obtained an advanced degree 
from a qualifying educational institution not 
more than 2 years before the date on which the 
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Director makes the applicable announcement 
under subsection (a); or 
(B) if the individual is attending a grad-
uate or professional school (such as law school 
or medical school), as of the date on which the 
individual applies, expect to complete an ad-
vanced degree described in subparagraph (A) 
not later than August 31 of the academic year 
in which the competition is held. 
(2) SERVICE AS FELLOW.—An individual may 
not serve as a Fellow unless the individual has, not 
more than 2 years before the date on which the indi-
vidual begins serving as a Fellow, completed an ad-
vanced degree from a qualifying educational institu-
tion. 
(3) MULTIPLE
APPLICATIONS.—An individual 
may apply to participate in the Program more than 
once if the individual satisfies the applicable eligi-
bility criteria, except that, if an individual becomes 
a finalist and subsequently applies to participate in 
the Program during the next open announcement, 
the individual shall forfeit that status of the indi-
vidual as a finalist. 
(c) SELECTION.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Director shall select 
Fellow finalists based on the results of a rigorous 
structured assessment process, which shall allow the 
Director to grant a preference for any individual 
who is preference eligible, as defined in section 2108 
of title 5, United States Code, in accordance with 
the provisions of that title. 
(2) PUBLICATION OF LIST.—The Director shall 
publish and provide to agencies a list of Fellow final-
ists. 
SEC. 5. APPOINTMENT AND EXTENSION. 
(a) APPOINTMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An agency— 
(A) may, subject to subsection (b), make 
2-year appointments to the Program under 
Schedule D of the excepted service in accord-
ance with part 302 of title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations, or any successor regulations; and 
(B) shall appoint a Fellow using the ex-
cepted service appointing authority provided 
under section 213.3402(c) of title 5, Code of 
Federal Regulations, or any successor regula-
tion. 
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