The Vacancies Act – And NASA Management (Update)
How the Trump era is changing the federal bureaucracy, Washington Post
“The clock ran out for hundreds of acting officials in November when a little-known law called the Vacancies Act – designed to spur presidents to staff their government – kicked in, limiting them from making official decisions. The law allows acting officials to serve for up to 300 days, at which point they must yield their authority to the agency head, unless the president has nominated someone to the job. An official action taken in violation of the law could face a legal challenge.”
Keith’s note: If I understand this correctly, Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot could technically get caught up in this. Rep. Bridenstine’s nomination was not carried over by the Senate – so the White House has to resubmit it – and sources report that they intend to do that. In the interim, one could argue that there is no active nomination for someone to head NASA. More than 300 days have passed since Lightfoot’s appointment has passed (he assumed the position on 20 January 2017).
Keith’s update: As I now understand things when Bridenstine’s original nomination is returned to the White House by the Senate, the clock for temporary appointments (like Lightfoot’s) is reset for another 210 days. When the White House resubmits Bridenstine’s nomination to the Senate that clock will be reset again for 210 days from the date that he was renominated and will run until he is confirmed. If his second nomination is rejected, if he withdraws, or if it is not voted on and returned, then the clock is reset again for another 210 days.
The more I think about it the more I feel that Rep. Bridenstine is being held hostage to the Trump Administration’s budget for NASA. If the budget shows strong support for SLS/Orion/EM-1 then he will get approved. If it however gives and hint the President Trump might not support those programs then he will be rejected along with any other candidate for Administrator.
Not really. This has to do with partisan politics and the vote of one or two Senators. SLS/Orion supporters already see Bridenstine as supporting the status quo.
Hopefully those Senators will let it go forward and approve him. NASA needs to have an Administrator in place if it’s going to be reoriented to the Moon and a DSG. It is sad they have kept it in a holding pattern so long. Hopefully this won’t set a precedent for the nominee of the next Administration.
This is already a pattern. Just look at the shenanigans pulled with SCOTUS nominees other appointments over the last 9 or more years. This appointment is important for NASA, but other appointments that have been held up were just as important to other segments of the population.
Those are tame compared to those pulled in the 19 Century. Congress actually reduced the Supreme Court from nine judges to seven judges so Andrew Johnson would not get to fill the two vacancies on the Court. Just imagine the screams if they did that today 🙂
I suspect that, in general, the lack of action by the Administration across the board has more to do with the political sensibility that the ‘government’ is populated by fools and knaves, and that not filling positions will have nothing but a positive budget effect. Certainly State is subject to this view. and over at Agriculture, something I follow, the lack of staff is debilitating.
There’s a bunch of duplicated, ineffective agencies that are ripe for debilitation.
Trump may not be able to get these folks expeditiously replaced under regular order, but under the Vacancies Act he has emergency appointment powers.
The problem is that he hasnt even attempted to get them replaced under regular order.
Brindestine probably has the numbers in the Senate to be voted in, but he hasnt even been proposed.
This story is repeated at agency after agency.
On the plus side, the money is still going out the door from the agencies – it’s just there is much less oversight as to if it’s going to the right people for the right things.
I’d guess the Administration doesn’t even know about these positions.
Given the most agencies are actually run by folks in the Civil Service and Congress controls the purse strings you have to wonder if it even makes a difference.
That’s a recognized POV. and it matches the sense among many that the government in general is a bloated mess. A ‘swamp’, as it’s called.
But there’s a problem in naming exactly which agencies are bloated, and where.
I suppose the example of DOE is instructive; the current head had the view during the election cycles of the past years that it’s a cesspool, not realizing the actual portfolio of DOE.
I dunno. There are problems with Federal hiring/firing, to be sure. Imperfect as it is, capitalism does tend to weed out those who aren’t productive, a benefit not readily applicable to Federal staffing.
My view is this: unless you are prepared to say exactly where the duplication is, exactly- exactly- complaining about duplication and ineffectiveness comes across as uninformed, at best.
One strategy might just be across the board budget cuts and hiring freezes until it’s clear that there is no more room to cut a budget.
But organizations do have a tendency to bloat from inertia. At the last college I worked at the Department of Business consisted of 4 full time faculty, 6 adjuncts and a small business development director with an expensive off campus office. We were offering 61 courses and 4 degrees. When I became Chair I reduced it to 40 courses, 3 degrees, 3 full time faculty, 3 adjuncts and the small business development director who was bought on campus into a vacant office while increasing enrollments by a third and the graduation rate by 50%. The key is to focus on achieving your output goals, not inputs.
BTW the other academic departments at the school were not happy about my example. Indeed they told me it was my responsibility to hire a 4th faculty even though there was zero need to do so. ?
What is happening before your eyes has had several different names, all probably starting with ‘starve the beast’.
Americans don’t trust the government to solve problems anymore. This isn’t complicated, nor is the history of this sensibility, nor, unless convincingly checked, will it fail to force revolution.
Not sure how that is responsible for the Democrats opposing a NASA Administrator vote…and, really, every administration executive branch appointment.
George- Could you restate your point in a manner my high school brain can absorb? I completely missed it?
Nothing like having a process that lets people just kick the can down the road so that more money and time can be wasted. Like we have infinite amounts of either. It also plays right into the hands of those who do not want to be held accountable for their actions. The future looks so bright…. 🙁