Position shifts – Their effect on the new administration
November 18, 2008
By Anna Lafferre
The Department of the Interior’s top lawyer has moved to shift several key positions from appointments to civil service. Other departments, such as Labor and Housing and Urban Development have similar plans underway. This act ensures jobs for many former Bush appointees and will deprive Obama of the ability to name his own appointees to these positions.
This act, known as “burrowing,” in not exclusive to the Bush Administration. According to the Washington Post, in its last 12 months, the Clinton administration approved 47 shifts from appointee to civil service, including seven at the senior executive level.
Do you think this will affect any plans of Obama’s, especially where the environment is concerned?