Congress should reform the law to ensure federal vacancies are filled

Since the early days of the republic, presidents have had the ability to temporarily fill federal roles that need Senate confirmation with acting officials, a vital practice in the transition from one leader to the next. But serious flaws with the law that governs federal vacancies combined with Senate inaction have enabled Donald Trump to fill numerous critical jobs with acting officials indefinitely, a practice that has destabilized the work of federal agencies and undermined the role of the Senate.

01/05/2021

The use of acting officials was never intended to be a strategy for the long term. As our government deals with the coronavirus pandemic and many other urgent matters, it is critical for Joe Biden to select and the Senate to swiftly act on his nominees to ensure that the new administration will be staffed with more permanent vetted individuals who can be clearly held accountable to the legislative branch and the public.

It is also time for the Congress to take other important steps, including a revision of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, which outlines who can serve in an acting capacity and also for how long. While the current administration has exploited the law for its own purposes during the last four years, the Senate also has fallen in its duty.

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