He stresses the need for extensive managerial experience on the part of political appointees. Certainly no one with the professional qualifications will want to apply. Surely the answer is not to be found in his resurrecting the outdated argument that we need more presidential, or Schedule C, political appointees. Instead, what should be done is a careful review of the need for all the current political positions in departments and agencies before they are filled. The philosophy that we need to cut career positions but increase political positions seems to be based largely on the ill-founded theory that career employees cannot be trusted to carry out the policies of a new president.
Experience is overwhelmingly in the opposite direction.
After leaving government, most successful department and agency heads will tell you they found the career service to be both highly competent and loyal. A few Schedule C appointees can be of great help to a new administration. Too many, however, raise problems. First, White House personnel offices in the past have not had the time or resources to conduct screening much beyond background checks and financial disclosure statements. Consequently, the quality of such appointees has been highly uneven.