“OPM CFO Ousted! $1 Trillion Fund Manager Pushed Out”
The Office of Personnel Management’s Chief Financial Officer, Erica Roach, who oversaw more than $1 trillion in federal trust funds, was forced out this week, sources told CNN.
Roach’s removal is part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump’s appointees and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to purge career officials and overhaul federal spending. In a recent meeting, a Trump appointee reportedly asked Roach if she was “loyal” and could be “trusted.” She responded that she “always” does “the right thing” but was later offered a demoted position. Instead, she resigned.
Musk and his team have been scrutinizing federal cash flows, aiming to slash spending and pause payments deemed “suspicious.” At the Treasury Department, top civil servant David Lebryk also departed suddenly after Trump-aligned officials sought to halt certain federal payments.
“The only way to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money is to follow the payment flows and pause suspicious transactions for review. Obviously,” Musk posted on X.
Roach’s former team at OPM manages over $1.2 trillion in Earned Benefits Trust Funds, which finance federal retirement programs, health insurance for 8 million people, and life insurance for over 4 million employees and retirees. These funds are also used by the Treasury Department during debt ceiling crises to maintain government payments.
The U.S. hit its debt ceiling on January 21, the day after Trump’s inauguration. In her final act, former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress that the Treasury would redeem investments from key federal retirement funds and suspend further investments until the cap is lifted.
Musk-Backed Shakeup at OPM Continues as CFO Forced Out
Despite ongoing debt ceiling concerns, federal workers’ and retirees’ benefits remain intact, with funds set to be replenished once Congress acts. Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen projected this “debt suspension period” to last through March 14.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk and his allies have tightened their grip on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), historically a nonpartisan agency overseeing federal workforce policies. Under Trump, OPM has become a key tool in reshaping the government, sending mass emails urging federal employees to resign in exchange for pay through September.
Many top OPM political appointees have close ties to Musk and have been aggressively sidelining career officials. Some senior federal employees believe Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is systematically eliminating career-level “chiefs” to install loyalists who won’t resist deep cuts—including plans to slash OPM’s workforce by up to 70%.
Erica Roach, the ousted OPM CFO, had a strong private-sector background, with stints at Deloitte and Booz Allen Hamilton before joining OPM in 2017. She quickly climbed the ranks and was named CFO last year. Despite her expertise—including multiple advanced degrees from Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland—she was forced out amid the Musk-driven purge.
Roach is being replaced by Melissa Ford, an associate CFO at OPM since 2022. According to sources, Ford is a logical successor, though it remains unclear how much influence she will have in an agency undergoing rapid political transformation.
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