Incoming presidents struggle to place the people they need to smoothly operate the federal government. Over the past three presidential transitions, close to half of the top 400 most important PAS positions have been left vacant by the time of the August congressional recess – 8 months into these new administrations. This information is presented in Exhibit 6 below:


Exhibit 6. Click above image to view or download


Of these 400 positions, at least 100 are vital national security and management roles that every president needs in place as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, none of the last three transitions have managed to place anywhere close to enough of these 100 top officials by May 1st – a date by when we suggest all such positions should be placed, or even by the August recesses, by which point we suggest all 400 listed positions should be in place.