This Act may be cited as the Hiring Improvement and Recruitment Empowerment for Drug Enforcement Administration Act or the HIRE DEA Act.

(a) In general During each of fiscal years 2027 through 2034, the Attorney General may appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, (other than sections 3303 and 3328 of such chapter), qualified candidates to any covered position in the Drug Enforcement Administration to work in locations deemed necessary to support the Administration’s mission, as determined by the Attorney General. (b) Covered position defined In this section, the term covered position includes program managers, project managers, criminal investigators/Special Agents in classification series 1811 (or any successor series), intelligence analysts/Intelligence Research Specialists, forensic specialists, community outreach coordinators, and any other position that the Attorney General determines is necessary based on emerging drug trafficking trends or threats.