Search Results

Trump administration lags in filling key posts
In the News

February 17, 2017

"The administration of President Donald Trump remains largely unfilled four weeks into his presidency, with just 34 of nearly 700 key Senate-confirmed positions even having a candidate announced. According to data from the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service hosted by The Washington Post, Trump has 14 officials confirmed by the Senate and 20 others are awaiting a vote, out of 696 top leadership positions in the administration."

CNN

Tag(s): appointments, transition management, White House

A management lesson for President Trump: government works better when morale is high
In the News

February 16, 2017

Presidents often clash with branches of the federal government. Most famous, perhaps, is the high levels of mistrust between President John F. Kennedy and the Pentagon in dealing with the Cuban missile crisis. The Pentagon favored an invasion of Cuba and thought Kennedy was naive and shy about the Soviet threat. 

Vox

Tag(s): agencies, management, White House

Trump’s war with the intelligence community is his biggest yet
In the News

February 16, 2017

Less than a month in office, President Trump has engaged in plenty of fights already — with the courts, Mexico, the media, and even Nordstrom. But his emerging fight with the U.S. intelligence community (over Russia and leaks) might be his biggest fight yet. On the one hand, you have the New York Times reporting that Trump is planning to appoint an ally who has little experience in intelligence matters "to lead a broad review" of the intelligence agencies.

NBC News

Tag(s): agencies, national security, White House

Mulvaney confirmed as OMB director
In the News

February 16, 2017

The Trump administration’s protracted battle to fill its Cabinet scored an important victory with the confirmation of Rep. Mick Mulvaney as director of the Office of Management and Budget. Mulvaney, R-S.C., — a budget hawk in the House of Representatives — secured confirmation in a narrow 51-49 Senate vote on Feb. 16, when normal GOP stalwart Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wavered in supporting the nominee.

The Federal Times

Fed Coach: Federal leaders need contingency plans to manage hiring freeze for the short and long term
In the News

February 15, 2017

Since President Trump signed a memorandum to freeze federal hiring on Jan. 23, it seems not a day has gone by without questions regarding how it should be applied. While there are a variety of opinions on whether the freeze is the right approach to reshaping the government, there has been little discussion about how federal leaders should handle this situation in the short term and potentially for the long run.

The Washington Post

How the hiring freeze targets millennials
In the News

February 14, 2017

The federal civilian hiring freeze instituted by President Donald Trump is almost four weeks old. While there are numerous exceptions and carve-outs -- for national security and public health posts, and for certain trouble spots like the more than 35,000 vacant medical positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs -- the vast majority of government is affected."

FWC

Tag(s): agencies, management, White House

Federal websites, agencies frozen in time, or MIA
In the News

February 14, 2017

“Tried checking the Office of Management and Budget website? You can't, because it's not there. A search resulted in this message from the White House: “Thank you for your interest in this subject. STAY TUNED AS WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE WHITEHOUSE.GOV.” The OMB, a White House agency, is the “implementation and enforcement arm of Presidential policy government-wide,” according to an archived version of the agency's website as it existed under President Barack Obama.”

Bloomberg BNA

Tag(s): agencies, management, White House

Revenge of the government nerds
In the News

February 14, 2017

“President Donald Trump, tangling with a tumultuous first few weeks on the job, may be realizing a paradoxical truth of being in the Oval Office: sometimes your best allies are people who aren't officially on your side. Top of the unfriendly ally list is Sally Yates, an Obama administration holdover who was serving as acting attorney general while Trump was awaiting confirmation of his pick, Jeff Sessions.”

U.S. News and World Report

Insiders: Senate delays on Trump Cabinet cripple agencies’ work agendas
In the News

February 13, 2017

“The U.S. Senate’s glacial approval rate for President Trump’s Cabinet appointments — slower than any recent president — is leaving critical agencies without clear marching orders as they work on critical tasks such as saving veterans’ lives and steering the economy, Washington watchers warn. “Leadership matters,” said Ron Kaufman, who was White House personnel director under former President George H.W. Bush.”

The Boston Herald

Trump team didn’t put nominees to ‘Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll’ test
In the News

February 10, 2017

President Trump has blamed "obstruction by Democrats" for delays in confirming his senior appointments, saying on Twitter that "it is a disgrace that my full cabinet is still not in place." But the slow pace of filling out Mr. Trump's cabinet can be attributed in part to decisions made in the early days of the nominee vetting process.

The New York Times

Tag(s): appointments, Ready to Govern, White House

How to win over Washington? Listen to your federal workforce
In the News

February 10, 2017

As the Trump administration’s new Cabinet secretaries and other top-level political appointees get acquainted with their responsibilities, some will find they have inherited high-performing organizations while others will discover that their agencies are struggling.

The Huffington Post

Tag(s): agencies, appointees, management

Why Donald Trump may end up hiring some of his critics
In the News

February 09, 2017

The administration’s hiring is running badly behind schedule. According to a tally kept by the Partnership for Public Service, a thinktank, Mr Trump has so far nominated 35 people to fill the top 693 positions in his administration, most of which require a congressional sign-off, which only seven nominees have received so far.

The Economist

Tag(s): appointments, transition management, White House

Despite recent additions, Trump Cabinet still emptier than predecessors
In the News

February 09, 2017

If President Trump were to call a meeting of his Cabinet today, he wouldn't need a very big table. Or, he'd have to invite a bunch of Obama administration holdovers serving temporarily in acting roles.

NPR

Tag(s): appointments, Ready to Govern, White House

The real-life consequences of the federal hiring freeze
In the News

February 09, 2017

Donald Trump’s late January order to halt government hiring has produced stress, anxiety, and confusion for current employees and those wishing to join them.

The Atlantic

Tag(s): Center for Presidential Transition, management, White House

Why Donald Trump may end up hiring some of his critics
In the News

February 09, 2017

“It is a sign of the anxiety in foreign policy circles in Washington, DC that the possible elevation of one of its most controversial members is being lauded as a return to sanity. At the urging of Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, Donald Trump is understood to be considering hiring Elliott Abrams (pictured above), a neoconservative veteran of George W. Bush’s administration, for the vacant number two slot at the State Department.”

The Economist