Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the conversion of appointees in noncareer political positions to career appointments, focusing on the number of conversions from January 1 to November 30, 1992.

GAO found that: (1) the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) processed and approved the conversion of 13 noncareer political appointees, of which 9 were career GS/GM appointments and 4 were senior executive service positions; (2) OPM did not process six conversions because they were either withdrawn by the requesting agency or they did not meet civil service merit and fitness requirements; and (3) as of November 30, 1992, five additional conversions were in process.