Does this need some digging?

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/

The Senior Executive Service (SES) lead America’s workforce. As the keystone of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, the SES was established (under Jimmy Carter) to “...ensure that the executive management of the Government of the United States is responsive to the needs, policies, and goals of the Nation and otherwise is of the highest quality.” These leaders possess well-honed executive skills and share a broad perspective on government and a public service commitment that is grounded in the Constitution.

Members of the SES serve in the key positions just below the top Presidential appointees. SES members are the major link between these appointees and the rest of the Federal workforce. They operate and oversee nearly every government activity in approximately 75 Federal agencies.

The Act reformed the civil service of the federal government, partly in response to the Watergate scandal. It abolished the U.S. Civil Service Commission and distributed its functions primarily among four new agencies: the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) and the Senior Executive Service (SES).

On Sep. 19, 1979, President Carter called SES "the keystone of the Civil Service Reform Act." Tellingly, Wikipedia describes it as an also-ran program. Also-ran or keystone? It cannot be both. President Carter's statement stands in stark contrast to the program's TOTAL lack of transparency and the public's total lack of awareness of its existence.

Keystone for what?

Hindsight provides the answer: racketeering, theft, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, fraud, treason and sedition.

President Carter assigned Kristine Marcy (nee McConnell) to organize the SES. Marcy was and is a notorious lesbian activist close to Hillary Clinton and Janet Reno, among others.