NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump has roughly 1,100 top-tier positions to fill across his administration.
So far, he’s nominated only 111 of them.
No president in modern history has fallen so far behind in naming heads of agencies, assistant secretaries, ambassadors and other critical leadership roles that require Senate approval.
As of Tuesday [6-6-17], only 41 of Trump’s 111 nominees have cleared the Senate, according to data compiled by the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit that has tracked presidential appointments since 1989.
In the first four months of their administrations, former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush each named more than 200 nominees, with more than half of them approved by the Senate.
The failure to fill these top roles undermines the president’s ability to delivery on his policy agenda — including his ambitious tax reform plan and vow to overhaul health care. Without critical leadership in place, agencies can be left rudderless.
The personnel shortage comes while the White House is dealing with an investigation into Russia’s alleged role in the 2016 election. The longer it takes the administration to fill top posts, the more it risks failing to ever catch up to its staffing needs.”
-Donna Borak, “Trump is crippling his agenda by leaving top jobs unfilled,” CNN Money, CNN.com, June 7, 2017 11:16am