Government: Senate Should Quickly Confirm Nominees, Panel Says

The Senate should swiftly confirm 150 of the most sensitive presidential appointments within the first 100 days of a new White House administration ....

On average, 35% of the top 100 political positions are filled in the first 100 days of a new presidency, including just eight of the 35 most critical national security positions, according to the Aspen Institute Commission to Reform the Federal Appointments Process, a nonpartisan group that released a report on the issue Wednesday.

Out of concern for the world's modern-day geopolitical and economic crises and the politicized nature of the Senate confirmation process, the panel, led by former senators Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Charles S. Robb (D-Va.) and veterans of the Clinton and Bush administrations echoed the conclusions of at least 15 other groups convened in the past three decades to explore allegations that the federal appointments process is dysfunctional and too-often rushed.

For more, see Senate Should Quickly Confirm Nominees, Panel Says by Ed O'keefe, March 22, 2012 at 2chambers.