“Burrowing in” is the practice of converting a federal government political appointment to a career non-political permanent position. Because merit principles apply to career appointments, burrowing in is disliked and disfavored... 1/ https://twitter.com/jakesherman/status/1351218433325723655

But can be legal. However, it is highly scrutinized. Typically, an agency must seek approval from OPM in advance. If it hasn’t done so, OPM may retroactively examine whether the conversion was valid and may take corrective action, including re-running the selection process. 2/

Pelosi’s letter suggests that the strict pre-approval and Congressional reporting requirements were not correctly done. This could result in a reversal of the conversion by OPM. 3/

Here’s a link to an article explaining more about the issues associated with burrowing in. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fedweek.com/issue-briefs/opm-issues-burrowing-in-memo/amp/ 4/

Burrowing in has probably happened at the end of every administration. Sometimes it garners attention, sometimes not. However, burrowing in undermines the merit system and causes suspicion and irritation for career federal employees. It should cause us concern too 5/end.