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Congressional
Research Servik
Presidential Transitions: Executive Branch
Political Appointment Status
November 24, 2020
In Section 2 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (as amended; 3 U.S.C. 102 note), Congress
declared that [t]he national interest requires that [presidential] transitions ... be accomplished so as to
assure continuity in the faithful execution of the laws and in the conduct of the affairs ofthe Federal
Government, both foreign and domestic. The crux of such a transition is the transfer of executive power
from the incumbent to the President-elect. The executive's power manifests in a variety of processes with
application to a broad range of policy areas and issues. CRS has produced a set of products examining
selected processes and policies that may be of particular interest during a presidential transition. This
Ins ight discusses the status of executive branch political appointments at that time. Other related products
examine clemency, executive orders, rulemaking, government records, and presidential transitions
generally.
The status of political appointees during transitions has often been of interest to Congress. In some
instances, some appointees of an outgoing President have continued to serve into a new Administration.
These appointees might not share the new President's policy preferences or readily implement the new
Administration's policy agenda. This dynamic usually has arisen where the tenure of a confirmed political
appointee extends into a new Administration as a result of fixed-term provisions intended to insulate the
appointee from the policy preferences of the President. In other cases, appointees have been installed in
such positions in the waning days of a presidency through a recess appointment, although this practice has
not been used since 2000.
Who Must Go?
In recent years, the leadership of the federal bureaucracy has numbered more than 8,000 appointees.
Approximately 3,500 of these are political appointees, and the balance are career members of the Senior
Executive Service (SES). Political appointments generally fall into one of four categories: presidential
appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate (PAS), presidential appointments not requiring
confirmation (PApositions), noncareer SES appointments, and Schedule C appointments.
Unless otherwise specified in law, political appointees to executive branch positions usually serve at the
pleasure of the President. That is, they serve for an indeterminate period of time and can be removed by
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11541
CRS NSIGHT
Prepared for Membersand
Com n o es o f Con g ress ------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ -------------](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govdctj0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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