Political appointments

The rare air of political appointments

Photo by Raymond M.E. Aguirre on Unsplash

I was fortunate enough to serve as a political appointee for Bush ‘41 and again for Bush ‘43. I ran for Congress in between those periods for Congressional District 19 in West Texas (as a Republican). I also had the pleasure of going through the transition from Bush ‘41 to Clinton.

The publication that is the guide to these political appointments is called the United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, or the “Plum Book”¹ for short, published by the Government Printing Office. It includes all of the positions in the federal government that are political appointments and who is currently holding those appointments, as well as the level of employment. It is a kind of shopping catalog where you can peruse the job you would like to have and have ready to suggest should you get an interview with the Office of White House Personnel.

I learned a lot.