How does one get a political appointment to a federal position? After every presidential election, the Government Printing Office (GPO) publishes United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (also known as “the plum book” because of all the plum positions listed). Beginning with the transition period and lasting well into the first year of office, the White House fills the positions listed in the “plum book.”

The president takes into consideration a combination of factors — political affiliation, area of expertise, work experience, personal characteristics, and background — when selecting a candidate for a particular job. Thousands of appointments are made every year, most of which require Congressional approval. With the increased partisanship in Washington, it's not unusual for these positions to remain empty for months or even years at a time.

Most political appointees remain in their positions for a brief period of time; the average term is less than two years. This being the case, career civil servants are typically disinclined to aggressively implement their current boss's directives because it's likely that the appointed boss will be gone in a year or two. They are further emboldened to disregard their supervisors' policies because it's nearly impossible to discharge a career civil servant — less than one-tenth of 1 percent are fired every year. This high turnover rate among appointees, combined with the inability to fire career civil servants, has led to a bureaucracy that is difficult to bring under control and slow to implement change.