THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS: … It is widely known that the constitutional process for nominating and confirming the federal government’s senior policy officials has become dangerously distorted, inhibiting the prompt and effective leadership and management of any new administration. The nominating process for the five hundred or so presidential appointees subject to confirmation has become an obstacle course, with interminable duplicative “vetting” of the financial, business, and personal lives of potential appointees by new administrations and Congress alike. Then a potential nominee may be left hanging for months, in some instances for a year or more, awaiting senatorial “consent” to a presidential nomination…
The delays and risks for an able and well-respected man or woman willing to take up the gauntlet of public service are daunting. These days too many of the highly competent and willing, even those eager to make a contribution, simply refuse to be considered or to wait out the process. The consequence is that a new or reelected president is left without key members of his team in place for many months, sometimes for a year or more. He is crippled in developing, defending, and administering his policies.
Through the years, and again now, a number of commissions and experienced executives have proposed approaches to speed the process. Among them are actions to reduce overlapping vetting procedures, and more importantly to cut back the number of offices that require Senate confirmation… (more)
