Featured topics in this issue: Presidential Transition

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A Running Start

Interview with Stephen Hess, a Distinguished Research Professor at the George Washington University and a Senior Fellow Emeritus of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He is a veteran staffer of the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations and a former advisor to Presidents Ford and Carter. Hess is the author of “What Do We Do Now? A Workbook for the President-elect” published by the Brookings Institution Press.

The Transition Period

Examines the U.S. presidential transition period between the November election and the January 20 inauguration, and briefly looks at every transition period in U.S. history since 1960. 

Selecting the Presidential Cabinet

One of the first things the President-elect must do is select his cabinet, which is comprised of fifteen ministers. In doing so, the President-elect must consider a number of important professional as well as personal factors.

Obama’s Team

According to the White House Transition Project, President-elect Obama has set a new record in naming the most important posts in his cabinet within 27 days after his election. The previous record was 39 days, set by George H. W. Bush in 1988. (The average is 48 days.)

Funding the Transition

Obama’s Presidential Transition will cost a record of $8.5 million. So where does the money come from? In the past, not only was this sum much smaller, but also the origin of funding was different.

The Senate Confirmation Process

After being selected by the President for a high ranking cabinet post, the candidates must undergo a Senate Confirmation Hearing. In an article published in the American Journal of Political Science, Nolan McCarthy and Rose Razaghian reveal that between 1885 -1996, over 3.5 thousand candidates were presented to the Senate for confirmation, only 55 were rejected.