Norman J. Ornstein

Although there are more than two months between Election Day and Inauguration Day--an eternity compared to transitions in parliamentary democracies--the process of getting top political appointees confirmed has grown longer and longer, stretching from two months in John F. Kennedy's presidency to an average of more than ten today. In an era of security challenges overseas and a spreading financial crisis, confirming key appointees in defense, homeland security, and financial regulatory agencies is more important than ever. AEI's Norman J. Ornstein has conducted extensive research into government transitions and continuity. This year, he has been contributing to the transition process by advising and consulting for the Transition Coordinating Council (TCC).

Established by President George W. Bush in October, the TCC represents, according to Ornstein, "the first serious and formal effort by an outgoing president to make the
transition smooth and seamless." He writes in his weekly Roll Call column that the TCC operates in the spirit of nonpartisanship. "After meeting with the full council," Ornstein says, "I am even more delighted at the administration's across-the-board commitment."

Indeed, Ornstein was working on transition plans behind the scenes with both presidential campaigns. Well before Barack Obama's victory on November 4, the TCC was "aiming to get the top one hundred presidential appointees in national security, homeland security, and finance areas nominated, vetted, and confirmed in a matter of days or weeks following the January 20 inauguration." The TCC has accelerated the clearance process for nominees to sensitive posts. A 2004 law permits major-party presidential candidates' transition personnel to receive clearances before the election. Since Election Day, nominees have been scrambling to obtain FBI clearances, complete financial disclosure forms, and prepare for their Senate confirmation hearings.

In November, the transition bustle was, for the most part, confined to vetting agencies and Obama's transition headquarters in Chicago, but in December and January, the Senate will begin hearings. The Senate is a potential roadblock to the transi-tion, Ornstein writes. "Huge staff resources will need to be committed to processing the nominations and preparing for the hearings, on the part of committee staffs and committee members' personal staffs." Furthermore, each Senate committee has its own disclosure forms, which are all different from executive branch forms. "Colleges and universities saw this unnecessary burden and created a common form," he says. "Why can't the Senate do the same?"

Ornstein calls on senators, especially those in the minority, not to use the confirmation hearings as an opportunity to score political points by placing "frivolous holds" on candidates who are free of ethical issues and offer no ground for opposition. "Key figures in the Senate . . . have to belly up to the bar here, for the good of the country, and pledge to do everything necessary to get the full team of top appointees in critical areas in place by February at the latest."

Presidents are often tested in the beginning of their first terms, and in a dangerous international environment, it is absolutely necessary that President Obama have a functioning cabinet and staff immediately following his inauguration. "Bush, to his great credit, has taken a big step toward making the country safer during a tumultuous time of transition," Ornstein concludes. "The burden is now on the new transition council . . . and on the top Senate leaders to make sure the promise is fulfilled."

For Ornstein's Roll Call columns on the transition, visit www.aei.org/publication28777/ and www.aei.org/publication28858/.