A paper by UVA’s Miller Center Director and CEO William Antholis and Center for Presidential Transition Director David Marchick featuring lessons learned from previous transitions that occurred during political and economic crises.
Data on President Barack Obama’s Cabinet nominations from the Senate. This includes nominees’ names and dates of their nomination announcement, hearing, received in the Senate and confirmation.
This document, prepared by the Partnership’s Center for Presidential Transition® and the law firms of Steptoe & Johnson and Holland & Knight collects historical examples of decisions previous administrations have made when vetting prospective political appointees. It includes updates for the 2020 presidential transition cycle.
The Center for Presidential Transition’s comprehensive guide on the activities required during the transition. This guide for the 2020 presidential election cycle was produced in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group. It features detailed outlines of transition best practices, historical materials from past transitions, and recommendations for a successful presidential transition to a new or second-term administration.
Preparing for the enormous responsibility of running the federal government is the most important job for any presidential candidate.
Few have served with more distinction than Josh Bolten and Denis McDonough, chiefs of staff for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In this conversation, they talk about three types of transitions – into government, to a second term, and the handoff to the next administration.
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In November 2024, the Partnership for Public Service published an updated version of this report with new data and improved methods for calculations that is available here.
Data from the Partnership for Public Service found that Senate confirmation of presidential appointees are taking longer than ever.
Why it Matters
A major presidential responsibility is to fill more than 1,200 political appointments requiring Senate confirmation. Few decisions have a greater impact on the success of an administration than the selection of its people. A president must not only select well-qualified appointees, but work with relevant federal agencies and the Senate to get appointees in place quickly. This is especially crucial for a president beginning their first term, or transitioning to a second term, as year five usually coincides with a turnover of more than 40% in senior leadership positions.
This guide and checklist outlines leading practices and key actions CHCOs can take to build effective relationships with new appointees during their first weeks and throughout the onboarding process to position them as a trusted advisor. It includes insights and advice from current and former CHCOs, appointees and other federal leaders.
Second-term presidents are faced with monumental challenges and need to be prepared for changes in critical leadership jobs. New data compiled by the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition shows that the last three presidents each experienced significant Cabinet-level turnover soon after their 2nd inauguration.
Memo from Beth Cobert, Acting Director Office of Personnel Management announcing suspension of agency Senior Executive Service (SES) qualifications review boards (QRB) when agency heads depart, and across all agencies as of December 7, 2016. This memo also details the required resignations for non-term presidential appointees.