Thousands of staffers need Senate confirmation
The Partnership for Public Service and the Washington Post are currently providing vetting services for the 1,250 positions the new US presidential administration must fill soon.
Tracking includes all full-time, civilian positions in the executive branch. In addition, part-time positions requiring Senate confirmation are not included.
Americans remember the ridiculous juggling among the 45th president’s four years of selecting people for positions. Many were fired or resigned. Some positions underwent four changes, making it impossible for the staffers to become fully knowledgeable about their workload or even where to find archived documents.
President Joseph Biden is working on filling about 800 high-level positions. He must nominate candidates to be confirmed by the Senate as part of its “advice and consent” responsibilities under the Constitution.
Researchers are also working to identify appointees who will continue to serve in termed positions or who were held over from previous administrations.
Presidents formally nominate individuals to the Senate to fill each position — a responsibility established in the Constitution.
The Senate refers most nominations to a specific committee with jurisdiction over the position.
Committees scrutinize the nominees and hold hearings to discuss their views, qualifications and histories. After the hearing, committees usually take a vote on whether to report out the nomination favorably, unfavorably or without recommendation. Or they can vote to take no action on the nomination.
A nomination generally goes to the full Senate for a final vote if a majority of the committee votes favorably, but this isn’t required to get a final vote. Many nominations are approved through a unanimous consent agreement that limits debate and speeds up the process. For nominees subject to a vote, a simple majority is necessary to win confirmation. The Senate has rules that allow for individual senators to voice concerns about the nomination process.
Most nominations that go to the Senate are ultimately successful. However, some do not receive a Senate vote, either because their nominations are withdrawn by the president or because the Senate calendar year ends before a vote takes place. By law, nominations not confirmed by the end of the year are automatically withdrawn and the president must resubmit them to be considered again during the following congressional session.
Most of the information regarding nominations and the Senate’s process comes from Congress.gov, the official website for US federal legislative information.
It’s not a simple process, but it is designed to help choose worthwhile nominees for each position.