Senate confirmation

Sun shines on the U.S. Capitol dome, Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Senate confirmation process lags as leadership vacancies remain

Biden’s nominees requiring Senate confirmation take 127 days, on average, to get through the process, the Partnership for Public Service said.

Management

FILE - People walk outside the U.S Capitol building in Washington, June 9, 2022. The biggest investment ever in the U.S. to fight climate change. A hard-fought cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors in the Medicare program. A new corporate minimum tax to ensure big businesses pay their share. And billions leftover to pay down federal deficits. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Five federal workforce items on Congress’ to-do list

Congress

Michael Astrue, Social Security Administration, SSA

From a former commissioner, advice for the next team at Social Security

Management

MSPB can chip away case backlog ‘almost immediately,’ having regained first quorum in 5 years

Workforce Rights/Governance

In this Aug. 7, 2018, photo, Mark Robbins, the sole member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, walks through the supply closet, pointing to boxes full of cases, in his office in Washington. Robbins reads through federal workplace disputes, analyzes the cases, marks them with notes and logs his legal opinions. He then passes them along to nobody. He’s the only member of a three-member board that legally can’t operate until the president and Congress give him at least one colleague. (AP Photo/Juliet Linderman)

If they’re ever confirmed, here’s what MSPB members will face

Workforce

Night falls at the the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, with the deadline to fund the government approaching. Republicans in the Senate are poised to stall a must-pass funding bill as they force a debate on rolling back the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandates for some workers. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Federal employee disputes sit in limbo as MSPB nominees await confirmation

Workforce Rights/Governance

The U.S. Capitol dome is seen past the base of the Washington Monument just before sunrise in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers faced a partial government shutdown early Saturday after Democrats refused to meet President Donald Trump's demands for $5 billion to start erecting a border wall with Mexico. Overall, more than 800,000 federal employees would see their jobs disrupted, including more than half who would be forced to continue working without pay. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

That Senate confirmation process seems slower than ever — especially at one agency

Federal Report

A military policeman closes a gate at JBSA-Lackland Air Force Base gate, Wednesday, June 9, 2021, in San Antonio. The Air Force was put on lockdown as police and military officials say they searched for two people suspected of shooting into the base from outside. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Some military installations are reinstituting COVID-19 travel restrictions

Federal Newscast

Biden’s Census nominee promises independence, transparency

People

Kiran Ahuja, the nominee to be Office of Personnel Management Director, appears before a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hybrid nominations hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, April 22, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Senate confirms Ahuja as first permanent OPM director in more than a year

People

Congress seems to get deeper and deeper into its own maze

Congress

OPM needs a permanent director now

OPM has been without a permanent leader since President Donald Trump’s last OPM director resigned in March 2019 after only six months on the job.

Commentary

Senate confirms Mayorkas as Biden’s homeland security chief

The Senate has confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas as President Joe Biden’s homeland security secretary

People

Data Dive

At some agencies, acting leadership often outlasted permanent appointees over last 4 years

Management

The Trump administration left open more non-competitive positions near the end of its four years in office compared to the two previous terms. Some of those vacancies persisted, with the tenure of acting leadership outlasting that of permanent appointees at several key positions.