United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (more commonly referred to as the Plum Book) is a book that lists positions in the United States government that are subject to political appointment. It lists around 8,000 federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the federal government that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment nationwide. It is a publication of the United States Senate's Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform. A new edition is published every four years, just after each presidential election. All tenured positions commissioned by the president are published, including all officers of the United States, their immediate subordinates, policy executives and advisors, and aides who report to these officials. Some positions are kept secret and not published due to being classified via executive privilege.
 116th Congress, 2d Session, December 2020 | |
| Author | COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM |
|---|---|
| Working title | Plum book |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Political Reference |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office, United States Government Printing Office |
| Publication place | United States of America |
| Website | https://www.govinfo.gov |
History
editThe Plum Book originated in 1952 during the Eisenhower administration to identify presidentially appointed positions within the federal government. For twenty years, the Democratic Party had controlled the federal government. When President Eisenhower took office, the Republican Party requested a list of government positions that the new president could fill. The next edition of the Plum Book appeared in 1960 and has since been published every four years, just after a presidential election.
Older editions of the Plum Book are held by any federal depository library.[1] The Government Printing Office (now the United States Government Publishing Office) began to make the Plum Book available as an app for the first time in December 2012.[2] The 2020 edition was published on December 1, 2020.[3]
Plum Books are considered an important resource for presidents-elect of the United States during their presidential transitions, aiding them in identifying federal government positions to which they can name appointees.[4]
Number of appointments by agency
editAs of December 2020[update], there are 7,935 political appointments across the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. federal government. Many of these positions must be filled by the incoming president every four years while others are career appointments that outlast presidential administrations.
These positions are published in the Plum Book, a new edition of which is released after each United States presidential election.[5] The list is provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Key
edit| Abbreviations for type of appointment[5] | |
| CA | Career Appointment |
| NA | Noncareer Appointment |
| PA | Presidential Appointment (without Senate Confirmation) |
| PAS | Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation |
| SC | Schedule C Excepted Appointment |
| TA | Limited Term Appointment |
| XS | Appointment Excepted by Statute |
| SES | Senior Executive Service[6] |
Executive branch – departments
edit| Type of appointment[7] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department | CA | NA | PA | PAS | SC | TA | XS | SES | Total |
| Department of Agriculture | 130 | 46 | 3 | 14 | 157 | 1 | 1 | 147 | 499 |
| Department of Commerce | 83 | 36 | 1 | 23 | 96 | 7 | 3 | 101 | 350 |
| Department of Defense – Department of the Air Force | 16 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 45 |
| Department of Defense – Department of the Army | 29 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 73 |
| Department of Defense – Department of the Navy | 11 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 39 |
| Department of Defense – Office of the Secretary of Defense | 211 | 58 | 1 | 44 | 95 | 9 | 0 | 55 | 473 |
| Department of Education | 35 | 21 | 1 | 16 | 72 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 161 |
| Department of Energy | 133 | 25 | 0 | 23 | 123 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 335 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | 237 | 78 | 2 | 19 | 92 | 11 | 1 | 74 | 514 |
| Department of Homeland Security | 84 | 56 | 4 | 18 | 72 | 9 | 161 | 46 | 450 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | 44 | 23 | 1 | 13 | 81 | 4 | 0 | 111 | 277 |
| Department of Justice | 96 | 57 | 8 | 219 | 60 | 6 | 1 | 44 | 491 |
| Department of Labor | 32 | 23 | 2 | 16 | 108 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 196 |
| Department of State | 130 | 36 | 3 | 256 | 86 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 525 |
| Department of the Interior | 158 | 35 | 0 | 18 | 42 | 0 | 4 | 54 | 311 |
| Department of the Treasury | 92 | 25 | 3 | 35 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 237 |
| Department of Transportation | 136 | 41 | 2 | 18 | 61 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 293 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | 281 | 16 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 147 | 77 | 557 |
| Total | 1938 | 590 | 34 | 766 | 1209 | 70 | 328 | 891 | 5826 |
Independent agencies and government corporations
editLegislative branch
edit| Type of appointment[9] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | PA | PAS | SC | XS | Total |
| Architect of the Capitol | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Government Accountability Office | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Government Publishing Office | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Library of Congress | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| Total | 10 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 22 |
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Somerset, Gary. "PLUM BOOK AVAILABLE AT GPO" (PDF). No. 8–31. Government Printing Office. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^ Somerset, Gary. "GPO RELEASES PLUM BOOK: Available for first time as an App" (PDF). No. 12–51. Government Printing Office. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^ "United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book)". July 2015.
- ^ Bravender, Robin (January 4, 2021). "The new Plum Book is here! Introducing the obscure 232-page federal document that will help Biden find and replace any lingering Trump appointees". Business Insider. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- ^ a b United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book) (PDF) (PDF). Government Publishing Office. December 2020.
- ^ Senior Executive Service positions can be filled by Career, Noncareer, Limited Term, or Limited Emergency.
- ^ United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book), Executive Branch (Spreadsheet). Government Publishing Office. December 2020.
- ^ United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book), Independent Agencies and Government Corporations (Spreadsheet). Government Publishing Office. December 2020.
- ^ United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book), Legislative Branch (Spreadsheet). Government Publishing Office. December 2020.