It’s not just the Cabinet: Trump’s transition team needs to find nearly 4,000 appointees

By Bonnie Berkowitz and Kevin Uhrmacher Nov. 12, 2016

When President Obama leaves office, more than 3,800 of his appointees will vacate their jobs as well. That means President-elect Donald Trump’s small and relatively inexperienced staff has about two months to build a new administration.

Positions range from high-profile advisers and Cabinet posts to ambassadors, small agency directors and special assistants. Team Trump is already soliciting résumés.

These are the positions filled by presidential appointees in 2012. The Office of Personnel Management has not yet released numbers for 2016.

[ Trump loyalists, inner circle poised to claim top government roles]

Appointees come in four categories as defined by OPM:
1,270 presidential appointees who need Senate approval: These are many of the bigwigs, including Cabinet secretaries, agency directors and ambassadors, who have to be formally confirmed by the Senate.

363 presidential appointees who don’t need Senate approval: Most White House staff fall in this category, including senior advisors such as the chief of staff and press secretary, along with heads of smaller agencies.

754 non-career Senior Executive Service positions: Nearly 7,000 people fall under the Senior Executive Service banner, and they oversee nearly every government activity. About 10 percent are designated “non-career” and change with the incoming president.

1,493 Schedule C appointments: These folks report directly to presidential appointees but are not in senior leadership roles.

For instance, the OPM press secretary who helped us with this graphic is a Schedule C appointee.

Here’s where those positions will need to be filled:

Executive Office of the President 199 positions


Cabinet departments

Agriculture 220 positions

Commerce 144 positions

Defense 457 positions

Education 147 positions

Energy 113 positions

Health and Human Services 161 positions

Homeland Security 161 positions

Housing and Urban Development 80 positions

Interior 103 positions

Justice 339 positions

Labor 122 positions

State 401 positions

Transportation 88 positions

Treasury 110 positions

Veterans Affairs 35 positions


Independent agencies

A host of other independent bodies get presidential appointees, from well-known behemoths such as NASA, the CIA and the Smithsonian Institution to lesser-known agencies such as the Marine Mammal Commission and the Railroad Retirement Board.

985 positions

Legislative placements

Including the Architect of the Capitol, and heads of the Library of Congress and Government Accountability Office.

15 positions

Source: Office of Personnel Management’s “ Plum Book,” Presidential Transition Directory, individual agency websites.
Note: Agency counts include inspectors general.

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