Political appointments in the United States

According to the United States Office of Government Ethics, a political appointee is "any employee who is appointed by the President, the Vice President, or agency head". As of 2016, an incoming administration needs to appoint around 4,000 new employees, of which about 1,000 require Senate approval.

There are four basic types of political appointments:

Unlike the presidential appointments, the non-career SES and Schedule C appointments tend to be made within each agency and then approved by the Office of Presidential Personnel.

Political appointees, referring broadly to anyone appointed by the President, the Vice President, or agency head, are subject to more ethics restrictions than regular executive-branch employees. There are two categories of appointees, and each category is subject to additional and slightly different ethics restrictions.

Political appointees are required to take an ethics pledge not to accept gifts from lobbyists. This is because of Executive Order 13490 Under of Executive Order 12674, political appointees who are appointed by the president are not allowed to receive any income from outside employment or activities. Exceptions to the gift rule include:

Political appointees sometimes attempt to transfer to a career position in the competitive service, excepted service, or Senor Executive Service. This practice, known as "burrowing in", is desired by employees due to increased pay and job security, as career positions do not end when a presidential administration changes. As these appointed positions are selected noncompetitively, while career employees are supposed to be selected on the basis of and without political influence, these conversions are subject to extra scrutiny. Since 2010, such conversions require advance approval from OPM, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) periodically audits the conversions. In 2008, members of Congress criticized the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice for improperly allowing political employees to convert to career positions.

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