Partnership for Public Service and the Washington Post team up to relaunch political appointee tracker for Biden-Harris administration

December 17, 2020

The tracker will follow the progress of more than 750 of President-elect Joe Biden’s Senate-confirmed political appointments 

WASHINGTON – The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service today announced the launch of a political appointments tracker in conjunction with The Washington Post to follow the progress of more than 750 of President-elect Joe Biden’s Senate-confirmed political appointments. Featuring a new design and enhanced navigation, the tracker provides the most comprehensive data and analysis of the political appointments process, following positions from nomination through Senate confirmation.   

Positions in the Biden Political Appointee Tracker include Cabinet secretaries, deputy and assistant secretaries, chief financial officers, general counsels, heads of agencies, ambassadors and other critical leadership jobs.  

The tracker will follow more positions than ever before, providing historical comparisons to the previous administration and data visualizations that reveal key confirmation and nomination trends.  

Click here to view the new Biden Political Appointee Tracker. 

“Since its introduction in December 2016, the appointee tracker has played a key role in providing the public with up-to-date information about the nomination and confirmation status of nominees for critical government roles,” said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. “The Partnership is thrilled to continue its collaboration with The Washington Post to keep the public informed about the status of important government jobs, particularly those with responsibility for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine, tackling the economic crisis and protecting the country’s national security interests.”  

“We are excited to offer our readers this real-time tool to follow the progress of the Biden administration’s appointments for hundreds of key leadership positions,” said Peter Wallsten, senior politics editor at The Washington Post. “The Biden Political Appointee Tracker will also inform our reporting on the new administration throughout the transition process and into the president-elect’s first term.”  

During President Donald Trump’s tenure in office, the tracker has been the preeminent source of information about political appointments and vacancies. The tracker has provided timely data illustrating how the Senate confirmation process has slowed to a crawl, with the average confirmation taking twice as long under President Trump as it did during the Reagan administration. The data on the Trump administration appointees will remain accessible and will continue to be updated as current appointees tender their resignations.  

In addition to tracking Senate-confirmed political appointments, the Partnership’s Center for Presidential Transition^® provides resources for prospective political appointees.  

The Center for Presidential Transition’s Ready to Serve website is a one-stop-shop that helps candidates who are interested in a political appointment to evaluate their qualifications to navigate the complex application, nomination and confirmation processes.  

For incoming political leaders, the Partnership’s Oversight Snapshots provide an “at a glance” summary of the health of 24 federal agencies and departments. The snapshots feature critical data about political appointments and vacancies, personnel numbers and demographics, employee engagement, social media presence, key performance indicators like the Government Accountability Office’s High-Risk List, information technology scores and more.  

During the past 19 years, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service has been dedicated to making the federal government more effective for the American people. We work across administrations to help transform the way government operates by increasing collaboration, accountability, efficiency and innovation. Visit opswebdev.wpengine.com to learn more. Follow us on social @PublicService and subscribe today to get the latest federal news, information on upcoming Partnership programs and events, and more.   

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