But there are also time limits. An acting official can only serve for 210 days after a vacancy occurs. If the president nominates a permanent replacement, that 210-day clock stops during the nomination process. The president gets another 210-day period for an acting official if the first nomination fails or is withdrawn. But they don’t get a third.
Presidents of both parties have routinely violated this law, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Trump has left roles unfilled rather than nominate permanent picks
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was already busy with Trump’s trade war when he was also tasked to lead the Office of Government Ethics, which is supposed to guard against conflicts of interest in the government, and the Office of Special Counsel, which plays an important role aiding government whistleblowers.
Trump doesn’t seem to have much use for either office during his second term. Neither has a permanent leader at the moment.
Commissions lack key figures
The Federal Election Commission, which is supposed to be bipartisan, doesn’t currently have enough commissioners to launch investigations.
The US Merit Systems Protection Board, which is tasked with hearing complaints of federal workers, sort of has a quorum, but only because its Senate-approved chairman, Henry Kerner, is also acting vice chairman.
Hundreds of unfilled political positions
There are about 1,300 Senate-approved positions, according to Stier’s Partnership for Public Service. The group is tracking more than 800 key roles, and more than 270 of those have no nominee from the Trump administration. About 100 roles have a nominee that has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. This is actually a slightly higher confirmation rate for Trump 2.0 than either the Biden administration or the first Trump administration.
