Political Appointees in Federal Agencies
T-GGD-90-4: Published: Oct 26, 1989. Publicly Released: Oct 26, 1989.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
GAO discussed the number and placement of career Senior Executive Service (SES), noncareer SES, and Schedule C appointees in the federal government. GAO noted that: (1) the number of political appointments tends to be cyclical, with the number of appointees reaching its lowest point just after a new president takes office and reaching its highest point in the middle of a presidential term; (2) the Reagan administration had almost 400 more political appointees than the Carter administration; (3) career SES membership dropped slightly between 1979 and 1987, but then rose by about 500 by June 1989; (4) the Department of Education experienced atypically sharp fluctuations in its political appointee population; (5) agencies converted a total of 86 political appointees to career positions between 1987 and March 1989; and (6) the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce and the Office of the Secretary of Defense had the highest aggregate numbers of political appointees as of June 1989. GAO believes that: (1) the increased number of political appointees reduces career executives' involvement in mission-related activities and their advancement opportunities; (2) lack of program stability and an increased need for personnel orientation result from political appointees' short tenures; and (3) because of the current low population of political appointees and noncareer SES executives, the new administration has an excellent opportunity to carefully assess the number of noncareer senior executives it realistically needs.
Jan 13, 2021
-
Department of Energy Contracting:
Improvements Needed to Ensure DOE Assesses Its Full Range of Contracting Fraud RisksGAO-21-44: Published: Jan 13, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 13, 2021.
Dec 16, 2020
-
Data Governance:
Agencies Made Progress in Establishing Governance, but Need to Address Key MilestonesGAO-21-152: Published: Dec 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 9, 2020
-
2020 Census:
The Bureau Concluded Field Work but Uncertainty about Data Quality, Accuracy, and Protection RemainsGAO-21-206R: Published: Dec 9, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2020.
Dec 3, 2020
-
2020 Census:
Census Bureau Needs to Assess Data Quality Concerns Stemming from Recent Design ChangesGAO-21-142: Published: Dec 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2020. -
2020 Census:
Census Bureau Needs to Ensure Transparency over Data QualityGAO-21-262T: Published: Dec 3, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2020.
Nov 30, 2020
-
Federal Buying Power:
OMB Can Further Advance Category Management Initiative by Focusing on Requirements, Data, and TrainingGAO-21-40: Published: Nov 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 30, 2020.
Nov 24, 2020
-
Disaster Response:
Agencies Should Assess Contracting Workforce Needs and Purchase Card Fraud RiskGAO-21-42: Published: Nov 24, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 24, 2020.
Nov 23, 2020
-
Federal Contracting:
Actions Needed to Improve Department of Labor's Enforcement of Service Worker Wage ProtectionsGAO-21-11: Published: Oct 29, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 23, 2020.
Nov 18, 2020
-
Federal Telework:
Key Practices That Can Help Ensure the Success of Telework ProgramsGAO-21-238T: Published: Nov 18, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 18, 2020.
Oct 7, 2020
-
Unaccompanied Children:
Actions Needed to Improve Grant Application Reviews and Oversight of Care FacilitiesGAO-20-609: Published: Sep 15, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 7, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here