IOP Director’s Internships Cancelled By Federal Hiring Freeze

All internships at federal agencies and departments offered by the Institute of Politics’ Director’s Internship program were cancelled just days before the application deadline last week after the Trump administration announced a complete federal hiring freeze Jan. 20.

The Director’s Internship program, a competitive internship facilitated by the IOP, offers more than a hundred funded summer internship opportunities in public sector roles, connecting students with non-profit organizations, state political offices, and — until recently — the federal government.

On Jan. 30, Internships and Career Services coordinator Zoe Anderson informed students that the US Department of Labor Office of the Solicitor and US Attorney’s office for the District of Connecticut were unable to accept interns for the upcoming summer.

The next day, she communicated to students that the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of the Secretary, Office of Performance Excellence would also not accept interns, explicitly citing the federal hiring freeze.

“There’s so many reasons for why an organization may or may not return to our DI program,” IOP vice president Summer Tan said. “I do want to say that we still offer a ton of internships. Staff is not worried. We are not worried about the status of our ability to give the IOP Student membership all these opportunities.”

Anderson did not respond to a request for comment on the canceled internships.

The hiring freeze prohibits agencies from filling any current vacancies or creating new positions while the Office of Management and Budget develops a plan to permanently shrink the federal workforce. In the meantime, the executive order instructed agency and department heads to “seek efficient use of existing personnel and funds.”

This year, the IOP is offering 102 Director’s Internships — a record high for the program, according to a statement from IOP spokesperson Brigid O’Rourke.

“Internships are a critical way for students to gain real-world experience, and the IOP is proud to help ensure that not only can internships be obtained, but that funding is available so that students aren’t prohibited from participating due to financial constraints,” O’Rourke said.

Opportunities under the IOP’s director internship program are far from the only internships affected by the federal hiring freeze. The effects of the executive order — ordered by President Donald Trump on his first day in office — have reverberated across Harvard, forcing undergraduate and law students to alter their summer plans.

In addition to its Director’s Internships, the IOP will continue to offer summer opportunities through its Summer Stipend Program, which funds unpaid or low-paying independent internships.

“We have a super packed summer, which is super exciting, especially after 2024 you might expect a drop off, but I believe we’re offering the most internships we’ve ever offered this year,” Tan said.

“So it’s not that we’re concerned about hiring or anything,” she added. “It seems that people are still reaching out to us. Everyone we've reached out to has been very receptive.”

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at elise.spenner@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @EliseSpenner.

—Staff writer Will P. Cottiss can be reached at will.cottiss@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X at @WillPCottiss.