WASHINGTON — As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to begin his second term in the White House in just a few weeks, he suggested: vacation plans He wants to bypass the Senate confirmation process and quickly place his nominations in key positions across the federal government.
The request was met with pushback from some Republicans, but there is another way for President Trump to temporarily put someone loyal to him in high office without Senate confirmation. The president would be required to nominate an acting official to fill the vacancy, which would require Senate confirmation.
The Federal Vacancies Reform Act (Vacancies Act), enacted in 1998, limits the number of civil servants who can temporarily fill approximately 1,300 federal offices that require presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.
This strategy would be nothing new for Trump, who installed “acting” leaders at the top of various federal agencies and agencies during his first term, including the Pentagon, Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency.
Some of the next president’s nominees are likely to face headwinds in the Republican-led Senate, including Pete Hegseth, who he nominated to lead the Pentagon, and Tulsi Gabbard, who is set to become director of national intelligence. There is. The Vacancies Act could be an important tool for President Trump to ensure that government agencies are staffed with people loyal to him and his policies.
“Congress has made a policy choice that will still require Senate consent for approximately 1,300 jobs,” said Cato Institute legal scholar Thomas Berry. “But what we now know is that at any given time, half or more of those people are not Senate-confirmed. Not because Congress made that policy choice, but because of the Vacancies Act. Because they can be pushed to the limit, and in some cases even, “exceed that limit and make acting officers and vice presidents act essentially the same way they would if they had been confirmed by the Senate for years.” It’s very easy to do. ”
How the vacancy law works
Under the Vacancies Act, there are three categories of federal employees who may temporarily hold positions covered by the law:
A “first aide” or deputy for the vacant position Another administration official who has already been confirmed by the Senate Has served there for at least 90 days in the year before the vacancy occurs and is at the highest level of civil service pay Government staff size
The Vacancies Act also sets a time limit on the tenure of acting officials, allowing them to serve for 300 days if they are appointed at the start of a new administration. Interim leaders promoted after the start of their term can remain in office for 210 days, but that cap could be extended if their nomination is pending in the Senate. If the nomination is rejected, returned, or withdrawn, the President has an additional 210 days to make the nomination.
Berry said Trump first took office in January 2017, and when he took office, he appointed an uncontroversial acting longtime official while the confirmation process took place. The same thing could happen again in the first few days or weeks after he returns to the White House on January 20th.
But Berry said things will change as President Trump’s second term progresses. Eventually, some Senate-confirmed officials will hold lower-level positions, serve more than 90 days in government, and hold the highest-paying positions. These officials may then be selected for acting positions.
“The vacancies that people should be more concerned about, the vacancies that President Trump has more flexibility with, are the vacancies that occur midway through his term, not on the first day,” he said.
Presidents of both parties have placed acting bureaucrats in high-ranking government positions. However, research by Ann Joseph O’Connell, a law professor at Stanford University who closely studies vacancy law, shows that President Trump has 30 acting secretaries approved during his first four years in the White House. It is said that more temporary instructors were appointed than new instructors.
The extent to which President Trump relies on the 1998 law in the early months of his second term may depend on his legislative priorities. Congress has a Republican majority, and the president-elect and Republicans said they would focus on extending Trump’s flagship tax reform law, which partially expires next year, and on border security. Filling Supreme Court justices who retire will also be a key priority with Republicans holding a Senate majority.
“Given the threat of using the adjournment appointment clause, my guess is that Senate party leadership will work closely with the White House to quickly gain Cabinet and majority confirmation through the traditional process. So the question is, what else will the Senate do? ” O’Connell said. “The Vacancies Act provides the next best option for filling agency positions.”
Since winning the White House in November, Trump has rolled out the following policies: Many HR picksThey range from people who would become cabinet ministers if nominated and confirmed by the Senate, to ambassadorial candidates who do not require Senate confirmation, to senior White House officials. One of those candidates, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, was selected by the president-elect to be attorney general. removed oneself from consideration He then faced new scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, which he denied.
While much of the focus will be on who President Trump chooses for the most senior positions in his new administration, lower-level leadership could be filled through vacancy laws or delegation of duties to subordinates.
“That strategy can be implemented in highly influential positions just below the secretary level, which is why we often see them pushing the limits of vacancy laws at that level,” Berry said. spoke.
