Lower-level jobs have far more vacancies at the end of presidential administrations than those at the cabinet secretary and deputy cabinet secretary levels, where long vacancies are rare. At the end of the Clinton and Reagan administrations, positions had been left vacant for an average of 231 days and 159 days, respectively. This problem is pronounced in two-term presidencies. Presidents have frequently left Senate-confirmed positions in executive agencies empty or filled with an acting official for many months at the end of their admin- istrations.

An even bigger difference exists for deputy non-cabinet agency heads-it took presidents an average of 301 days to nominate and the Senate 82 days to confirm. For example, from 1987 to 2005, it took presidents an average of 173 days to nominate non-cabinet agency heads, and it took the Senate an average of 63 days to confirm these nominations. Although presidents often complain about the length of the confirmation process, the nomination process actually accounts for more delay in filling positions-except in the case of cabinet secretaries where both confirmation and nomination delays are minimal.

It typically takes presidents far longer to nominate executive agency leaders than for the Senate to confirm them.

It was also highest in the final year of each four-year term. The percentage of time a position was vacant was highest in the final year of each administration and was greater when party control of the White House changed. The percentage of time that Senate-confirmed positions were not filled with appointees from 1979 to 2003 ranged from nearly 12 percent in 19 to approximately 50 percent in 19.

Executive agency positions were vacant an average of 25 percent of the time over the past five administrations.

Bush an average of 422 days to fill technical positions. It took President Clinton an average of 457 days to fill deputy agency head positions, for example, while it took President George W.

Presidents fill the highest positions in cabinet departments relatively quickly when they take office, but staff lower-level positions in cabinet departments and other executive agencies much more slowly.

Bush at 242 days, President Reagan at 194 days, and President George H.W. President Clinton took the longest of the past four presidents, at an average of 267 days to fill Senate-confirmed agency positions.

Presidents take many months to fill Senate-confirmed positions in executive agencies at the start of their administrations.

This report analyzes comprehensive new data on delays in the appointments process as well as appointee turnover in Senate-confirmed positions in executive agencies over the past five administrations. And near the end of a term or administration, these political positions empty out yet again. Once filled, these positions do not stay occupied for long. It takes many months to get the first wave of appointees into the bureaucracy. Staffing these lower but still critical positions is remarkably challenging. If President-elect Obama follows the example of recent presidents, he will finalize his initial top picks for the cabinet and heads of other major agencies by Inauguration Day but will take much longer to select individuals for lower layers of the bureaucracy.

Lets git it started