Publications

The Pace of Appointments and Confirmations to Senate-confirmed Positions During a President’s First Two Years

January 26, 2023

Publication Type: Research and Publications

Publication Tags: Appointees,Data,Joe Biden

Presidents are responsible for about 4,000 political appointments, about 1,200 of which require Senate confirmation. The Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition has been tracking the rate of submissions and confirmations for each of the last few administrations. The following data was compiled to compare how President Joe Biden’s first two years in...

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(Not So) Privileged Nomination Calendar: Nominees in a streamlined Senate confirmation process are taking almost 50% longer to confirm than all other nominees   

May 24, 2022

Publication Type: Research and Publications

Publication Tags: Appointees,Congress,Data,National Security

Tags: national security,political appointments,Senate confirmation

(Not So) Privileged Nomination Calendar: Nominees in a streamlined Senate confirmation process are taking almost 50% longer to confirm than all other nominees   

The Senate created the privileged nomination process more than a decade ago, a procedure designed to speed up the confirmation of nominees for roughly 280 positions that are typically noncontroversial. Despite this well-intentioned effort, nominees on the privileged calendar are worse off today than they were before the reform was adopted.

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Slow Nominations and Confirmations Pose a Threat to National Security

May 24, 2022

Publication Type: Research and Publications

Publication Tags: Appointees,Congress,Data,National Security

Tags: national security,political appointments,Senate confirmation

Slow Nominations and Confirmations Pose a Threat to National Security

Data from the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition reveals chronic delays at nearly every step of the presidential nomination and congressional confirmation process—even for the national security positions that all stakeholders agree are essential to minimize threats during the first months of a new administration.

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Leading Together

February 24, 2022

Publication Type: Research and Publications

Publication Tags: Appointees

Tags: employee engagement,political appointees

Leading Together

One of the most influential elements of employee engagement is leadership, a critical issue for the federal government and its civilian employees who are led by both Senate-confirmed appointees and career executives. This exploratory analysis by the Partnership for Public Service's Center for Presidential Transition and Boston Consulting Group reviewed whether there is any difference in federal employee engagement if agency subcomponents are led by political appointees or by members of the career Senior Executive Service.

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Guide for Incoming Cabinet Secretaries

February 3, 2021

Publication Type: Tools and Templates

Publication Tags: 2020,Appointees,Management

Guide for Incoming Cabinet Secretaries

The guide for incoming Cabinet secretaries is designed to support a new secretary lead effectively from day one and make an impact as the leader of a large and complex organization. Informed by insights from senior federal leaders, it outlines best practices to build an effective team, advance the administration’s agenda, and work effectively with key stakeholders.

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The Precedent for Pre-Inaugural Hearings

December 16, 2020

Publication Type: Research and Publications

Publication Tags: Appointees,Congress

Pre-inaugural hearings help ensure that a new president’s team is confirmed quickly and are ready to govern on day one. These hearings are traditionally granted to nominees for senior Cabinet positions and are essential at the start of a new administration.

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President Obama Cabinet Nominations Data

July 28, 2020

Publication Type: External Resource

Publication Tags: Appointees,Congress,Data

Data on President Barack Obama’s Cabinet nominations from the Senate. This includes nominees’ names and dates of their nomination announcement, hearing, received in the Senate and confirmation.

U.S. Senate
2020 Agency Transition Guide

Publication Type: Research and Publications

Publication Tags: Agencies,Agency Landing Teams,Appointees,Appointments,Management,Policy,Transition Management

2020 Agency Transition Guide

Federal agencies face a cascading series of challenges before and after a presidential election and into the early months of a new administration. Throughout the transition, the Partnership for Public Service brought together agency transition leaders from nearly 40 agencies to help improve this process. From these convenings, the Partnership and the Boston Consulting Group have...

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