A study prepared by Democratic staff of the House says that the number of political appointees in the federal government has grown by more than 300 under the Bush administration, to about 2800 currently. While there have been slight declines in the number of appointees and political SES appointees–which the report says may be due to an increase in vacancies and delays in the confirmation process–the number of Schedule C appointees, those who are appointed without confirmation, grew by about 400 to 1,640, the report says.
It said that during the Clinton administration, the total number of political appointees fell from about 3,000 to about 2500, while the number of Schedule C appointees declined by about 450.
The report also said that while in 2000 26 percent of political appointees were minorities, in 2005 just 13 percent were. In the same time, the percentage of appointees who are female fell from 45 percent to 36 percent, it said.
