Report to the Administrative Conference
of the United States
PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF AGENCY OFFICIALS
(LISTING AGENCY OFFICIALS)
Final Report: November 13, 2019

Bobby Ochoa
Attorney Advisor
Administrative Conference of the United States

This report was prepared for the consideration of the Administrative Conference of the United States. The opinions, views, and
recommendations expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the members of the Conference or its
committees, except where formal recommendations of the Conference are cited.

† I am indebted to Matthew L. Wiener, ACUS Vice Chairman and Executive Director, and Reeve T. Bull, ACUS
Research Director, for their careful review and helpful insight during the drafting process. I am also grateful for the
valuable insights that Professor Anne Joseph O’Connell, Adelbert H. Sweet Professor of Law at Stanford University
and ACUS Public Member, offered throughout the process. Professor O’Connell’s report to the Conference for the
companion project Acting Agency Officials and Delegations of Authority provided helpful insights into related
issues. I also appreciate Professor O’Connell’s review of this draft report, as well as the review of Professor Aaron
L. Nielson, Associate Professor of Law at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School and ACUS
Public Member; Professor Nielson also serves as the Committee Chair for the ACUS Committee on Administration
and Management, which considered this project and the companion project. ACUS Legal Intern Darrell E. White II,
a law student at Cornell Law School, provided valuable research assistance and other contributions to Part IV. Many
government officials generously took time out of their busy schedules to speak with me about the existing
government publications and other relevant topics, for which I am very grateful.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1

II.

BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................... 3
A.

III.

IV.

Definitions and Scope ........................................................................................... 4

STUDY METHODOLOGY.................................................................................................... 15
A.

Research ............................................................................................................... 16

B.

Phone Interviews ................................................................................................. 17

C.

Agency Websites Review .................................................................................... 17

RESEARCH SUMMARIES AND FINDINGS ........................................................................... 19
A.

Existing Government Publications .................................................................... 19
(i)

The Plum Book ......................................................................................... 20

(ii)

Official Congressional Directory .............................................................. 24

(iii)

U.S. Government Manual ......................................................................... 28

(iv)

Other Nongovernmental Sources .............................................................. 33

B.

Agency Websites.................................................................................................. 40

C.

Centralized Entities ............................................................................................ 42
(i)

Department of State: Office of Presidential Appointments ...................... 42

(ii)

White House Office of Presidential Personnel ......................................... 43

(iii)

Office of Personnel Management ............................................................. 46

V.

CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................... 50

VI.

DRAFT RECOMMENDATION ............................................................................................. 54

VII.

APPENDIX A: AGENCY WEBSITE EVALUATION INSTRUMENT ........................................ 57

VIII. APPENDIX B: GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS EXCERPTS ................................................ 60
IX.

APPENDIX C: AGENCY WEBSITE EXEMPLARS ................................................................ 79

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
I.

INTRODUCTION

Presidential appointees and the members of the Senior Executive Service sit at the
highest levels of federal departments and executive agencies and wield significant decisionmaking authority in the government. But who are they? The public often learns about the highest
level of these positions, specifically the cabinet secretaries who lead departments, because the
media covers these officials and the important decisions they make. But these are only a small
fraction of the officials appointed directly by the President and those exercising significant
authority. The public knows far less about the next layers of the executive branch, in part
because information can be difficult to locate in a centralized, updated, and comprehensive
format.
In December 2016, United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (the socalled “Plum Book”) reported that the federal government included (in terms of positions, not
actual appointees) 1,242 Senate-confirmed presidential appointee positions (PAS positions), 472
other presidential appointee positions (PA positions), and 4,521 relevant Senior Executive
Service (SES) positions subject to noncompetitive appointment.1 The Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) reported that the Senior Executive Service included 8,156 total leaders in
fiscal year 2016.2 These important leaders directed federal departments and agencies and
exercised significant governmental authority while overseeing a federal workforce of more than
two million employees.
The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) has commissioned this
report to examine the extent to which the identities of certain high-level agency officials
(including information about their names and appointment terms) is available from official
government sources; to describe the processes currently in place to assemble this information in
centralized resources; and to provide a recommendation about the optimal means of making this
basic information available. The report focuses on ensuring the information is displayed publicly,
that it is comprehensive, that it is updated in real time, and that it is published in a readily
accessible format to facilitate stakeholder use of the information. Part II sets out the problem and
background in more detail.
The broad research goals included answering the following questions:
(1) Is this information adequately presented?
(2) If not, is a central entity or agency (or a combination of both) better positioned to
assemble and publish this information?

SEN. COMM. ON HOMELAND SEC. & GOV’T AFFAIRS, 114TH CONG., UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT POLICY
SUPPORTING
POSITIONS
(THE
PLUM
BOOK)
(Comm.
Print
2016),
available
at
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2016/pdf/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2016.pdf.
1

AND

2

OFF. OF PERSONNEL MGMT., 2016 SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE REPORT 3 (2017), available at
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/federal-employment-reports/reportspublications/ses-summary-2016.pdf. This total includes career (7,321), noncareer (737), and limited term/emergency
(96) positions, explained more fully in Part II.A.

1

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
To answer these important questions, the author pursued several methodological
approaches to assess the current state of publicly available information about high-level agency
officials, both on agency websites and centralized sources. As described in Part III’s description
of the study methodology, the author (1) reviewed relevant research materials, (2) conducted
phone interviews with government officials, and (3) systematically evaluated numerous agency
websites.
After outlining the various methodologies, the discussion in Part IV transitions to
summarizing and assessing the information gathered during the research phase. Part V briefly
summarizes the main conclusions and findings. In so doing, the author proposes a path forward
by synthesizing the research and summarizing these findings. Part VI proposes a draft
recommendation for the Committee’s consideration and to facilitate the Committee’s work.

2

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
II.

BACKGROUND

There is significant public interest in obtaining information about the occupants of highlevel positions in federal agencies in the executive branch. Listing and publishing this
information about the occupants of high-level positions in federal agencies is critical for
transparency and effective monitoring and participation in the work of government.
Congressional members and staff, White House officials, officials at other federal agencies,
professionals who advocate before federal agencies, the media, and members of the public alike
all have a strong interest in obtaining this information in a comprehensive and readily accessible
manner.
One of this project’s purposes is to advance the Conference’s recent efforts to promote
greater access to relevant agency information.3 Moreover, ACUS has addressed related issues in
the past.4
The Government Accountability Office recently reported that “[a]s of March 2019, no
agency in the federal government was required to publicly report comprehensive and timely data
on political appointees serving in the executive branch.”5 When it comes to presidential
appointees and SES members serving in the executive branch agencies and departments,
providing data that is comprehensive, publicly available, and updated is important for purposes
of promoting transparency, accountability, and public participation.6
Because “there is no single source of data on political appointees serving in the executive
branch that is publicly available, comprehensive, and timely[,]”7 members of the public must
undertake extensive efforts to unearth this information from scattered agency websites, existing
outdated resources, or submit their own requests for specific data using the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA).8 Operating by FOIA request is very resource-intensive, time
3

See, e.g., Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2019-_, Acting Agency Officials and Delegations of
Authority, __ Fed. Reg. _____ (_____); Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2019-3, Public Availability of
Agency Guidance Documents, 84 Fed. Reg. 38,931 (Aug. 8, 2019); Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation
2018-6, Improving Access to Regulations.gov’s Rulemaking Dockets, 84 Fed. Reg. 2139 (Feb. 6, 2019); Admin.
Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2018-5, Public Availability of Adjudication Rules, 84 Fed. Reg. 2142 (Feb. 6,
2019); Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 2017-1, Adjudication Materials on Agency Websites, 82 Fed.
Reg. 31,039 (July 5, 2017). Earlier Conference recommendations in accord include Admin. Conf. of the U.S.,
Recommendation 89-8, Agency Practices and Procedures for the Indexing and Public Availability of Adjudicatory
Decisions, 54 Fed. Reg. 53,495 (Dec. 29, 1989).
4

See, e.g., Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 68-2, U.S. Government Organization Manual (Dec. 11,
1968).
U.S. GOV’T ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GAO-19-249, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA AND
SOME ETHICS OVERSIGHT PROCEDURES AT INTERIOR AND SBA COULD BE IMPROVED 13 (2019), available at
https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/697593.pdf.
5

6

See OFFICE OF MGMT. & BUDGET, EXEC. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, OMB MEMO. M-10-06, OPEN
GOVERNMENT DIRECTIVE (2009) (stating that “[t]he three principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration
form the cornerstone of an open government[,]” and that “[t]ransparency promotes accountability by providing the
public with information about what the Government is doing.”).
7

GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA, supra note 5 (Highlights).

8

5 U.S.C. § 552.

3

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
consuming, and inefficient, and ultimately produces outdated information. GAO has stated that
“[t]he public has an interest in knowing who is serving in the government and making policy
decisions[,]” and referenced 32 FOIA requests at OPM for data on agency political appointments
between January 2017 and November 2018.9
Several government publications include information about political appointees serving
in executive branch agencies. The United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions
(the so-called “Plum Book”),10 the Official Congressional Directory,11 and the United States
Government Manual12 are three of the most widely circulated government publications
containing information about agency officials serving in the executive branch. But these
publications largely provide snapshots in time and become quickly outdated, or they serve very
different purposes and audiences.
Nongovernmental entities also give it their best shot, and there are numerous databases
(both free and paid) of government officials available to the public. These nongovernmental
databases often encounter similar issues, but their nongovernmental status also brings a host of
additional obstacles to publishing real-time information about political appointees and other
high-level agency officials. And these databases can be costly to create and to maintain.
Most agencies have websites that list some senior leaders at the agency or department,
but practices can vary widely. Some agencies provide comprehensive organizational directories
listing names, titles, and contact information for every employee at the agency; others list more
limited information about a handful of the highest political appointees. GAO has recommended
that “Congress should consider legislation requiring the publication of political appointees
serving in the executive branch.”13 This project aims to identify the best path forward.
A.

Definitions and Scope

In order to better define the universe of agency officials at issue in this report, some
background information about the key features distinguishing and defining federal civilian
employees will be helpful.
Congress has statutorily outlined the personnel system, which Presidents and federal
agencies have “further defined and augmented” with executive orders and agency rules,
respectively.14 The U.S. Code divides Title 5 civil service positions—all such positions in the
government, excluding uniformed services but including judicial and legislative branch
9
GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA, supra note 5, at 12 (also noting White House
officials within the Office of Presidential Personnel reported similar requests for data on political appointees).
Moreover, GAO staff reported several inquiries about the report from nongovernmental individuals or entities
interested in creating their own databases.
10

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1.

11

UNITED STATES CONGRESS, JOINT COMMISSION ON PRINTING, OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY: 115TH
CONGRESS (2017).
12

NAT’L ARCHIVES & REC. ADMIN., THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MANUAL (2018).

13

GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA, supra note 5 (Highlights).

4

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
positions—into three distinct categories: the competitive service, the excepted service, and the
senior executive service.15
All civil service positions are in the competitive service by default,16 but the President
(and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) by delegation) is authorized “to place civil
service positions in the excepted service.”17 “OPM may place a position in the excepted service
if it has determined that appointment through competitive examination ‘is not practicable.’”18
After making such a determination, OPM assigns the position “within one of four ‘schedules’:
Schedules A through D.”19 Certain agency heads also have “the authority to create hiring
authorities entirely outside of Title 5.”20
Using information from the Plum Book and the ACUS Sourcebook of United States
Executive Agencies,21 the following paragraphs provide key descriptions of the major federal pay
systems and the distinct appointment authorities.
Pay Systems
The Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies describes five major pay systems
that govern most of the federal civilian workforce:
(1) The Federal Wage System (FWS)22 applies to blue-collar employees (trade, craft,
skilled, and unskilled laborers) who are paid by the hour;
(2) The General Schedule (GS)23 applies to 1.5 million white-collar federal employees
occupying professional, technical, administrative, and clerical jobs;
14

JENNIFER L. SELIN & DAVID E. LEWIS, ADMIN. CONF. OF THE U.S., SOURCEBOOK OF UNITED STATES
EXECUTIVE AGENCIES 125–32 (2d ed. 2018), available at https://www.acus.gov/publication/sourcebook-unitedstates-executive-agencies-second-edition.
15

5 U.S.C. §§ 2101–2103; see also Todd Rubin & Todd Phillips, Recruiting and Hiring Agency Attorneys 3
(Dec. 4, 2019) (report to the Admin. Conf. of the U.S.), https://www.acus.gov/report/recruiting-and-hiring-agencyattorneys-final-report.
16

5 U.S.C. § 2102; see also Rubin & Phillips, supra note 15, at 4.

17

Rubin & Phillips, supra note 15, at 4 (citing 5 U.S.C. § 3302).

18

Id. at 4 (citing 5 C.F.R. §§ 213.102, 213.3101 (2019)).

19
Id. (citing 5 C.F.R. § 213.102). A fifth category, Schedule E, applies to administrative law judges. Rubin &
Phillips, supra note 15, at 4 (citing Exec. Order No. 13,843, 83 Fed. Reg. 32,755 (July 13, 2018)).

Rubin & Phillips, supra note 15, at 4 (citing U.S. GOV’T ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GAO-16-521, FEDERAL
HIRING: OPM NEEDS TO IMPROVE MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF HIRING AUTHORITIES (2016)).
20

21

SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 62.

22

5 U.S.C. §§ 5341–49. See also SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 64; Federal Wage System Overview, OFF. OF
PERSONNEL MGMT., https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/federal-wage-system/ (last
visited Nov. 13, 2019).
23
5 U.S.C. §§ 5331–38. See also SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 64; General Schedule Overview, OFF. OF
PERSONNEL MGMT., https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/general-schedule/ (last
visited Nov. 13, 2019).

5

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
(3) The Senior Level and Scientific and Professional System (SL/ST)24 applies to
“high level non-executive positions above the highest GS pay level;”25
(4) The Senior Executive Service (ES in the Plum Book, generally abbreviated SES)
pay schedule26 applies to senior management positions that do not require
presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.27 The SES is a governmentwide personnel system covering senior management, supervisory, and top-level
policy positions in most federal agencies, and these positions are not part of the
General Schedule pay system.28 These SES officials often direct and monitor the
activities of agencies; supervise the work of federal employees; exercise
“important policy-making, policy-determining, or other executive functions[;]”
and are held accountable for the success of programs and projects.29
Approximately half of SES positions are reserved for career employees, and the
other half are classified as general SES positions, which may be filled by a career
appointee, a political appointee, a limited-emergency appointee, or a limited-term
appointee.30 The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) allots and closely
regulates the total number of SES positions for each agency.31 By law, the number
of political appointees may not exceed ten percent of government-wide SES
positions and may not exceed twenty-five percent of a single agency’s total SES
positions.32 This pay plan includes positions filled using several appointment
authorities (explained below), including Presidential Appointment (without
Senate confirmation), Career, Noncareer, Limited Emergency, and Limited Term
appointment authorities. In fiscal year 2016, the SES included 8,156 individuals
(7,321 career SES, 737 noncareer SES, and 96 limited term/emergency SES).33
Relevant to this report, about half of SES positions are reserved for career
employees (who have some removal protections34), and half are general positions,

24

5 U.S.C. § 3104. See also SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 64; Scientific & Senior Level Positions, OFF. OF
PERSONNEL MGMT., https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/scientific-senior-levelpositions/ (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
25

SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 64.

26

5 U.S.C. §§ 3131–36; 5 C.F.R. pt. 317 (2019) (“Employment in the Senior Executive Service”).

27

SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 64.

28

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 217–18; 5 U.S.C. §§ 3131 et seq.; SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 64,

67–68.
29

5 U.S.C. § 3132(a)(2).

30

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 217.

31

Id. at 217–18; 5 U.S.C. §§ 3132 et seq.; SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 67.

32

5 U.S.C. § 3134.

33

OPM, 2016 SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE REPORT, supra note 2, at 3 (listing 2 positions as “unspecified”).

34
See 5 U.S.C. § 7542–43. See also Free Enter. Fund v. Pub. Co. Accounting Oversight Bd., 561 U.S. 477,
541–42 (2010) (Breyer, J., dissenting).

6

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
which may be filled by Career, Noncareer,35 or other limited appointing
authorities.36 According to the Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies,
approximately “[t]en percent of the SES are political appointees.”37
(5) The Executive Schedule (EX)38 applies to positions requiring presidential
nomination and Senate confirmation.39 There are five pay levels in the EX pay
system, and the controlling statutes include extensive lists of officials subject to
each pay level.40
Several other pay systems exist and apply to much smaller numbers of employees, but
those are outside the scope of this report and they are not relevant to these issues.41
Appointment Authorities
The Plum Book identifies eight different categories of appointment authorities:
(1) Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation (PAS): These positions at the
top of federal agencies are the most visible political appointments and require the
occupant to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Of the
1,242 PAS positions listed in the 2016 Edition of the Plum Book, 1,237 were in
the federal executive establishment (as opposed to legislative branch agencies).
The EX pay system applies to these positions. PAS officials often lead federal
agencies, and they are often the most visible political appointees. PAS positions
are part of the Executive Schedule, which prescribes the basic pay schedule and
salaries of most presidential appointees.42 These officials are among the highestpaid civilian government officials,43 and a number of statutes and regulations
establish special rules, obligations, and restrictions on their activities.44

35
In the 1980s, President Reagan’s Office of Presidential Personnel expanded control over appointments to all
non-career SES positions. James P. Pfiffner, The Office of Presidential Personnel 3 (Nov. 19, 2018). This is an
additional reason to include these important officials within the scope of this report and recommendation.
36

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 217.

37

SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 69 (“Figure 2”).

38

5 U.S.C. §§ 5311–18.

39

SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 64.

40

5 U.S.C. §§ 5311 et seq.

41

See SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 64.

42

5 U.S.C. §§ 5311 et seq.; see also OFF. OF PERSONNEL MGMT., PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION GUIDE TO
FEDERAL HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT MATTERS 19 (2016), available at https://www.opm.gov/about-us/ourpeople-organization/office-of-the-director/executive-secretariat/presidential-transition-guide-2016.pdf.
43

See 2019 Executive & Senior Level Employee Pay Tables, OFF. OF PERSONNEL MGMT.,
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2019/executive-senior-level/ (last visited Nov.
13, 2019) (Salary Table No. 2019-EX, listing salaries ranging from Level V at $156,000 to Level I at $213,600).
44

See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 207 (establishing various communications restrictions on former government officials,
including additional restrictions on certain “very senior personnel” and certain restrictions relating to foreign

7

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
(2) Presidential Appointment (without Senate Confirmation) (PA): The President
directly appoints PA officials. These 462 executive-branch positions do not
require Senate confirmation. These positions are typically located within the
Executive Office of the President, advisory committees, and certain agencies.45
PA positions are not part of the General Schedule pay system, and they may fall
within the scope of several other pay systems, including the Executive Schedule.
Similar to Senate-confirmed officials, PA officials may also be subject to special
rules, obligations, and restrictions on their activities, and they also typically resign
during a presidential transition.46 This report is mainly concerned with those PA
positions within the SES and EX pay systems, but PA positions may fall under the
EX, SES, SL/ST, and other miscellaneous pay systems.
(3) Career Appointments (CA): The occupants of these career civil service positions
originate from the competitive merit system. Approximately half of SES positions
are career-reserved, and most of the SES general positions are filled by career
appointees due to strict limits on the percentages of noncareer appointments
government-wide and within agencies.47
(4) Noncareer Appointments (NA): These 475 positions are part of the SES, and
specifically fill SES General positions (in other words, not the career-reserved
positions). There are fewer NA positions than CA positions because there are
strict limits: NA appointees may not account for more than 10% of SES positions
in government (and typically no more than 25% of an agency’s SES positions).48
(5) Limited Emergency Appointments (EA): The first category of limited appointment
authorities is the Limited Emergency Appointment, which provides a
nonrenewable and noncontinuing position “established to meet a bona fide,
unanticipated, urgent need[.]”49 These temporary SES appointments may not
exceed 18 months. In fiscal year 2017, there was only one EA position in the
SES.50

entities); 5 U.S.C. §§ 7321 et seq. (The Hatch Act, prescribing rules regulating political activities of federal
employees and establishing special provisions and exemptions applicable to PAS officials); 5 C.F.R. § 2634.202
(2019) (describing persons required to file public financial disclosure reports); 5 C.F.R. § 2636.303 (2019)
(describing noncareer officials subject to fifteen-percent limitation on outside earned income); 5 C.F.R. § 2638.305
(2019) (describing additional ethics briefing required for PAS appointees within 15 days of appointment).
45

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 213–16.

46

OPM, PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION GUIDE, supra note 42, at 7.

47
See, e.g., 5 U.S.C. § 3134 (NA appointees may not account for more than 10% of SES positions in
government (and typically no more than 25% of an agency’s SES positions)).
48

Id.

49

Id. § 3132(a)(6).

50

OPM, 2016 SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE REPORT, supra note 2, at 3.

8

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
(6) Limited Term Appointments (TA): The second category of limited appointment
authorities is the Limited Term Appointment, which provides a nonrenewable
position not to exceed three years for a temporary special project based on the
nature of the work.51 In fiscal year 2017, there were 80 TA positions in the SES.52
These two categories of limited appointments (EA and TA) may not exceed 5% of
total SES positions in government, and they may only occupy SES General
positions (i.e., not SES positions reserved for career employees).53
(7) Schedule C Excepted Appointments (SC): Due to their confidential relationship
with a top agency official or their policy-determining character, these
nonpermanent political appointees are excepted from the competitive service.54
Agencies must specifically request and justify a Schedule C position, and the
OPM Director must authorize these positions on a case-by-case basis after
reviewing the agency’s request.55 Most SC positions are part of the GS pay
system, they are usually lower-level agency positions, they do not require Senate
confirmation, and they are not part of the SES system.56 These positions are never
vacant because OPM automatically revokes the authorization when the incumbent
leaves the position.57 In 2016, there were 1,538 Schedule C positions.58
(8) Appointments Excepted by Statute (XS): The Plum Book identifies an additional
585 positions (in 2016) subject to “statutory excepted appointment.”59 Many
different pay systems apply to these positions.

51

5 U.S.C. § 3132(a)(5).

52

OPM, 2016 SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE REPORT, supra note 2, at 3.

53

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 218.

54

SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 68.

55

Id. at 68 n.269. See also THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 219.

56

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 219.

57

SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 68 n.269.

58

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 216.

59

Id. at 213.

9

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

Figure 1: Simplified Depiction of Current Federal Civilian Personnel System60

60
SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 69 (“Figure 2”). Because this is a simplified depiction, it does not include
several other important categories, such as other excepted service hiring authorities (aside from Schedule C).

10

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

Table 1: Examples of Positions (from The Plum Book)
Pay Systems

PAS

GS

SL/ST

Some U.S. Marshals

Some U.S. Marshals

PA

SES (CA)

DOD Director of Defense Suicide
Prevention Office

SES (NA)

State Department, Senior Advisor
to the Secretary of State

ES

EX
Cabinet Secretaries;
Attorney General; Deputy
AGs; Assistant AGs; FBI
Director

Treasurer of the U.S.; DOL
Director of Women’s
Bureau; Chair/Members of
FLRA Fed. Service
Impasses Panel

GSA Executive Director;
ODNI IC CIO; DHS CIO

FCC Chief Engineer, Chief
Data Officer, Senior
Economic Advisors,
Deputy Associate General
Counsel

Numerous: DOJ Some
Associate Deputy AGs and
Deputy Assistant AGs in
OLC/OLP, Deputy SGs;
OIRA Deputy
Administrator; USDA
Chief Economist

Director of Nat’l Cancer
Inst.; Director of Office of
Science and Technology
Policy (EOP); Rural
Utilities Service
Administrator (USDA)

Numerous: DOJ Principal
Deputy SG, some Deputy
Assistant AGs; Chiefs of
Staff to Cabinet Secretaries

SES (EA)

Presumably all fall in this
category, but none listed in
2016 Plum Book

SES (TA)

Presumably all fall in this
category: DOJ Chief of
Staff and Counselor to
Deputy AG; SSA Senior
Advisor to Commissioner

SC

Numerous: DOJ Special Assistants
to AG and Deputy AG, OLP
Senior Advisor, Counsel, and
Researcher; Special and
Confidential Assistants, Senior
Policy Advisors, and Counselors
to Cabinet Secretaries;

DOL Chief Economist;
Export-Import Bank Sr.
VPs

XS

FEC Executive and Special
Assistants; EOP Council on
Environmental Quality Special
Assistant Climate Preparedness

FCC Senior Advisors to
Chairman
and
Commissioners;
FEC
Inspector General; FLRA
Foreign Service Labor
Relations Board Members,
and
Foreign
Service
Impasse Disputes Panel
Members; PBGC Inspector
General and Deputy IG

11

Harry
S
Truman
Scholarship
Foundation
Executive Secretary

GPO Deputy Director;
some Commission on Civil
Rights
Commissioners;
Fed. Retirement Thrift
Investment
Bd.
Exec.
Director; Inter-American
Foundation President &
CEO

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Scope
This report studies and makes a recommendation about publishing real-time information
about the identities of the most important government officials exercising significant decisionmaking authority within federal executive agencies. This section briefly describes some helpful
guidance about the scope and definitions of both the government agencies and the categories of
government officials involved with respect to the report, the research, and the subsequent
recommendation.
In general, this report is focused on all agencies within the executive branch and the
recommendation would apply broadly to all federal executive agencies (and their websites).
When relevant and helpful, this report adopts the Administrative Procedure Act’s broad
definition of “agency.”61 The author also consulted the ACUS Sourcebook of United States
Executive Agencies62 when compiling lists and information for portions of the research.
The research portions of this report examined agency practices and the websites of
numerous departments and agencies. Specifically, the research covered the cabinet departments,
a departmental subcomponent/bureau63 from each cabinet department, and 59 other independent
agencies. The first two categories are rather straightforward for the definition, and the author
selected a subcomponent/bureau included in the ACUS Sourcebook of United States Executive
Agencies with at least one PAS/PA official listed in the Plum Book.
As used here, other independent agency refers to those agencies included in the ACUS
Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies, listed as having a PAS/PA position in the Plum
Book, and included in OPM’s data submitted for the Acting Agency Officials and Delegations of
Authority project.64 The author applied this definition to maintain a manageable scope of the
research process, but this does not limit the broad applicability of the findings and
recommendation. When relevant, the report highlights these scoping decisions in the applicable
discussion.
Regarding the scope of officials, this report focuses on three categories of government
officials: PAS officials, PA officials, and the Senior Executive Service (which includes some PA
61

5 U.S.C. § 551(1) (“’agency’ means each authority of the Government of the United States, whether or not it
is within or subject to review by another agency. . .”).
SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 125–32 (providing a nuanced definition of agency as “a federal executive
instrumentality directed by one or more political appointees nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate
(the instrumentality itself rather than its bureaus, offices, or divisions).”).
62

63

Subcomponent refers to bureaus and other subunits within a larger executive department or agency. See id. at
13–15, 125–32 (describing definitional difficulties and providing an extensive list of agencies and subunits).
64

For the companion ACUS project, Acting Agency Officials and Delegations of Authority, OPM provided a
spreadsheet with the start and end dates of service of all Senate-confirmed and recess presidential appointees who
worked in the federal bureaucracy between October 1, 2004 and June 30, 2018. See Anne Joseph O’Connell, Acting
Agency Officials and Delegations of Authority 17 (Dec. 1, 2019) (report to the Admin. Conf. of the U.S.),
https://www.acus.gov/report/final-report-acting-agency-officials (describing significant data issues). The data
elements included agency, last name, first name, middle name, title, position number, effective date, and vacate date.
This information came from the Central Personnel Data File and the Enterprise Human Resource Integration–
Statistical Data Mart.

12

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
officials).65 The author chose PAS and PA officials because they are key people exercising
policymaking powers. Many SES officials also exercise significant authority and policymaking
powers.66
This scope references two categories of government officials by appointment authority
(PAS and PA officials) and one category by pay system (SES officials), in order to cover the
range of important government officials exercising significant decision-making authority within
federal executive agencies. The PAS officials are the most visible appointees leading agencies,
they are directly appointed by the President, and they are designated by a separate pay system.
The President also directly appoints these prominent PA officials. Some PA positions are part of
the SES pay system (filling SES General positions), so there is some overlap here in the
categories. SES officials include a corps of management personnel across the government
consisting of a mix of both career civil servants and political appointees. Some prominent
examples of these non-career political appointees within the SES include the chiefs of staff to
most cabinet secretaries.
The project seeks to cover those officers exercising significant decision-making authority
in government. These definitions should capture the most important government officials in
high-level agency positions who are directing major government functions and exercising
significant decision-making authority in the executive branch. These groups are also easy to
identify across different sources and systems.
The author chose not to use other classes, such as all officers of the United States,
because that would require agencies to make legal judgments as to whether a particular official is
an officer and this standard would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement. Under current
Supreme Court precedent, officers are those appointees “exercising significant authority.”67 In
applying this vague standard, courts examine “(1) the significance of the matters resolved by the
officials, (2) the discretion they exercise in reaching their decisions, and (3) the finality of those
decisions.”68 Given that these are frequently litigated issues and the problems that have arisen in
assembling a test of “officer” status cast at a useful level of specificity,69 the author decided to
steer away from these murky waters. Even limiting the scope to principal officers, another
possible option, would still be problematic for similar reasons.
Difficulties would also arise with a definition focused on all officials who hold statutorily
established positions: difficult judgment calls would be required as to whether a position is or is
not statutorily established. This standard would be difficult to implement because it would
65
Some PA officials are included in the SES pay system, so there will be some definitional overlap here. This is
relevant mainly for the recommendation and subsequent Committee process.
66

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 217.

67

Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 126 (1976) (per curiam).

68
Tucker v. Comm’r, 676 F.3d 1129, 1133 (D.C. Cir. 2012). See also Freytag v. Comm’r, 501 U.S. 868, 881-82
(1991).

See generally Jennifer L. Mascott, Who are “Officers of the United States”?, 70 STAN. L. REV. 443, 447–48
(2018) (providing helpful background and context and describing the vagueness and uncertainty with these
definitions).
69

13

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
require judgment calls about the required level of specificity in an organic statute to designate a
specific position (or class of positions) as “statutorily established” under this standard.
Notably, this definition and report excludes three large categories of officials:
adjudicators, Schedule C appointees, and presidential advisers within the Executive Office of the
President. The category of adjudicators would cause several definitional problems. After Lucia,70
the category of adjudicators could be exceedingly broad and sweep in thousands of officials
(whether they are administrative law judges or other adjudicators).71 This report will still include
some adjudicators, including (1) PAS adjudicators who are members of various boards and
commissions, and (2) adjudicators who are part of the SES and who exercise significant
managerial authority over adjudication programs.
Schedule C appointments are not included in the SES pay system due to their confidential
relationship with a top agency official. These appointees generally are not carrying out
significant decision-making authority because they are carrying out the decisions and orders of
another top agency official.
Those PA officials within the Executive Office of the President are also outside the scope
of this project.72

70

See, e.g., Lucia v. SEC, 138 S.Ct. 2044 (2018) (holding that administrative law judges of the Securities and
Exchange Commission qualify as Officers of the United States).
71
See Kent Barnett, Logan Cornett, Malia Reddick & Russell Wheeler, Non-ALJ Adjudicators in Federal
Agencies: Status, Selection, Oversight, and Removal (Sept. 24, 2018) (report to the Admin. Conf. of the U.S.),
https://www.acus.gov/report/non-alj-adjudicators-federal-agencies-status-selection-oversight-and-removal-1.
72
The data OPM submitted for the Acting Agency Officials and Delegations of Authority project specifically
excluded the White House Offices. See supra note 64.

14

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
III.

STUDY METHODOLOGY

This report is the product of research, interviews, and a review of existing publications
and agency websites. As mentioned above, the author used several approaches to create helpful
information and data to address the multiple parts of this inquiry. First, the author reviewed the
existing publications and investigated how the information was compiled by reviewing the public
materials and websites and speaking with relevant government officials involved in producing
these publications. Next, the author investigated whether agencies or some central entity would
be best positioned to present this data. Additional information-gathering interviews with other
government officials supplemented this research.
The final major piece of the study involved reviewing the agency side of the equation and
the extent to which agencies already gather and publish information about high-level agency
officials. To do this, the author designed a basic instrument and coding tool to capture basic
information about whether (and how) agencies publish certain information about high-level
agency officials. Using the coding tool, the author evaluated numerous agency websites across
several relevant variables. Details about each research component are included in the sections
that follow.

15

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

A.

Research

This study included three major research components. First, the author reviewed the three
existing government publications containing information about agency officials, including the
Plum Book,73 the Official Congressional Directory,74 and the United States Government
Manual.75 The author reviewed the existing publications and their online websites to learn more
about (1) the content of the publication; (2) the general legal authority for the publication (if
any); (3) the relevant historical roots of the publication; (4) the coverage and scope of
information included about government officials; (5) the scope of archival information
maintained online; (6) information about the entity or staff responsible for assembling the
publication and how they assemble it; and (7) any other relevant information the publication
provides. This information often led to statutes, agency regulations, and other helpful and
informative research material. During this phase of the research, the author also reviewed public
resources provided by the nongovernmental entities that publish data about high-level
government officials in databases.
Second, the author reviewed the publicly available information about three centralized
entities that would seem to be best positioned to publish real-time information about high-level
agency officials: the Office of Presidential Appointments at the Department of State, which is
responsible for delivering commissions to all presidentially appointed civilian officials; the
Office of Personnel Management, which maintains information on all federal officials, including
those occupying presidentially appointed positions; and the White House Office of Presidential
Personnel, which systematically identifies and tracks presidentially appointed offices for
appointment purposes. For these three centralized entities, the author reviewed publicly available
information about the office and its recordkeeping efforts relevant to this project, usually by
reviewing the agency website, relevant webpages, agency publications about its databases, and
other relevant online materials from government sources.
Third, the author supplemented these official government sources with a variety of other
strategies, including a review of secondary literature about the office and its practices
(particularly the White House Office of Presidential Personnel). These helpful publications filled
in several missing pieces where various impediments limited the amount of information publicly
available with respect to certain publications or government entities. Moreover, the author also
utilized information received in connection with the ongoing companion project Acting Agency
Officials and Delegations of Authority.76

73

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1.

74

CONGRESS, OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY: 115TH CONGRESS, supra note 11.

75

NARA, GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12.

76

See supra note 64.

16

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
B.

Phone Interviews

To supplement the above research efforts, the author also interviewed several government
officials knowledgeable about the centralized entities, the three existing publications, and
relevant research reports touching on similar investigative efforts and issues.
The first group of government officials consisted of government employees associated
with the three major existing resources for this information about executive branch officials.
These interviews explored the process by which each entity assembles the information that will
populate the resource; limitations of the data; any challenges that each entity encounters during
the information-gathering process and production cycle; their interactions with agencies; how
they obtain and store the data during each cycle; whether they maintain archival records of this
information (both publicly and internally); potential issues with preserving archival data; best
practices; and other relevant topics that came up during the conversation.
The second group of government officials included government employees in several of
the major centralized entities. These interviews focused on obtaining information relevant to the
second major research question: whether a centralized entity is best positioned to compile and to
publish this information. Major interview topics included the process by which each centralized
entity obtains and stores relevant data about statutory officials; any major problems each entity
encounters when compiling this information; how these entities interact with other agencies;
whether the entity maintains archival data; best practices generally; and other relevant topics.
C.

Agency Websites Review

This report investigated the extent to which information about presidentially appointed
agency officials is currently publicly available, including on agency websites. It quickly became
apparent that there are significant differences among agencies with respect to the accuracy of
available information, the level of detail about key officials, their roles, the terms of their
appointment, and other basic information (as well as archival information about these high-level
positions). In order to tease out measurements of how extensively or comprehensively this
information is currently available, the author designed and implemented a simple investigatory
instrument and coding tool to document more objectively the availability of this information on
agency websites. This approach provided more reliable and verifiable information than a casestudy method or other descriptive approach, which would inevitably inject significant
subjectivity and uncertainty. A past ACUS researcher previously utilized a similar tool in
preparing the report for Recommendation 2017-1, Adjudication Materials on Agency Websites.77
In order to maintain a manageable scope, the author examined agency websites for the 15
cabinet departments, 15 departmental subcomponents (one significant subcomponent included in
the ACUS Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies from each department with at least
one PAS/PA official listed in the Plum Book), and 59 other independent agencies.78 After
77

Daniel J. Sheffner, Adjudication Materials on Agency Websites 16 (April 10, 2017) (report to the Admin.
Conf. of the U.S.), https://www.acus.gov/report/adjudication-materials-agency-websites-final-report-0.
As used here, “59 other independent agencies” means those agencies included in OPM’s data submitted for
the Acting Agency Officials and Delegations of Authority project and included in the ACUS Sourcebook of United
States Executive Agencies.
78

17

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
reviewing the Plum Book entry for each agency or department (to ascertain the number and
identity of PAS and PA officials), the author navigated to the agency’s homepage and then
examined and coded the agency website across approximately 11 categories. The Appendix
includes the list of specific questions used in the investigatory instrument and described in Part
III.B, which covered a variety of basic subjects.
For most of the instrument questions, the author coded and grouped the agency websites
into three broad but meaningfully distinct categories: (1) No, the webpage does not include the
information expected in this category for any official; (2) Yes, but the webpage only includes
limited information about this category; and (3) Yes, the webpage includes extensive information
about this category (there was also a “not applicable” category for some of the questions). These
three major distinctions are open to fair criticism, but the sole author coded all agency websites
in order to ensure some degree of conformity and consistency and to minimize subjectivity. In
grouping the agencies across these three categories, the author endeavored to capture meaningful
differences among agency websites and distinguish those that did a much more thorough job at
capturing or publishing certain information from other agency websites that did not.
For a handful of questions, the author applied a simple No/Yes binary code due to the
nature of the question (such as question 2 about whether there is an organizational chart). These
simple questions and coding criteria provided the data about the different agency websites cited
in this report in Part III.B.

18

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

IV.

RESEARCH SUMMARIES AND FINDINGS
A.

Existing Government Publications

A recent GAO report bluntly concluded that “there is no single source of data on political
appointees serving in the executive branch that is publicly available, comprehensive, and
timely.”79 When it comes to publishing the names and terms of high-level agency officials
(which is not an easy task), focusing on the public as the end user would promote transparency in
government.
Several government entities periodically collect and publish information about agency
officials. The Plum Book, the Congressional Directory, and the Government Manual are three of
the most widely circulated government publications in this space. Each publication serves a
distinct purpose and objective that is different from the objective of this report and
recommendation.
Several nongovernmental organizations also have created and published information
about the occupants of high-level agency positions. These nongovernmental projects encounter
additional challenges due to their nongovernmental status (on top of many of the same
challenges the government projects encounter).
The following sections provide consolidated information about the general content of
each publication; the general background and any relevant historical information about each
publication; the coverage and scope of information included about agency officials; the scope of
any archival information maintained online; information about the entity or staff in charge of
assembling each publication and how they assemble and update the publication; and other
relevant information. The subsection then briefly describes some of the nongovernmental
organizations collecting data and some of the unique concerns in this space.

79

GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA, supra note 5 (Highlights).

19

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

(i)

The Plum Book

Background
In the weeks leading up to the presidential election
every four years, a team of Capitol Hill staff members
coordinates a major data request with the Office of Personnel
Management. They are assembling United States Government
Policy and Supporting Positions, a publication colloquially
known as the Plum Book.80 During this transition period, the
Plum Book identifies presidentially appointed positions within
the federal government nationwide and it is published just after
the presidential election.
The Plum Book provides up to eight discrete pieces of
information about several broad categories of government
positions in the executive branch (and several in the legislative
branch) across more than 200 pages of text in the most recent
edition dated December 1, 2016.81 Although it identifies individuals in specific offices, its main
focus is to identify positions for the new President to fill.
The Plum Book originates from a 1952 list of important government positions requested
by the Republican Party after the election of President Eisenhower.82 After 20 years of
Democratic control of the presidency, the Republican Party “requested a list of government
positions that President Eisenhower could fill.”83 Another edition appeared in 1960, and such a
list has been published every four years since, just after the presidential election.84
Today, each edition is published alternately by either the Senate Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs or the House Committee on Government Reform. The Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs assembled the 2016 Edition, so the
House Committee on Government Reform is expected to continue the tradition in 2020. Unlike
other government publications, there does not appear to be a legal requirement (statutory or
otherwise) for its creation and publication. Instead, it appears that each Committee carries out
this time-honored tradition voluntarily. Once the publication goes to the printer and goes live on
the website, there are no periodic updates or supplements during the intervening four years.

80

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1.

81

Id. at v–vii.

GPO Releases Plum Book, GOV’T PUBL’G OFF., https://www.gpo.gov/who-we-are/news-media/news-andpress-releases/gpo-releases-plum-book (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
82

83

Id.

84

Id.

20

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Coverage
The 2016 Plum Book provides information about more than “9,000 Federal civil service
leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal
Government that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment[.]”85 Descriptions generally
state that the publication covers important officials, agency heads and those reporting or closely
associated to the agency head, officials considered policy executives, and other advisors and key
personnel.86
Specifically, the Plum Book describes five major categories of included positions in its
Foreword: (1) those officials on the Executive Schedule or salary-equivalent positions; (2) Senior
Executive Service “General” positions; (3) Senior Foreign Service positions; (4) Schedule C
positions (those excepted from competitive service due to the confidential or policy-determining
nature of the position); and (5) “[o]ther positions at the GS–14 and above level excepted from the
competitive civil service by law because of the confidential or policy-determining nature of the
position duties.”87
In terms of content, the Plum Book lists each department and agency (and other
government entities) and includes basic information about each relevant position within that
entity (location, position title, name, type of appointment, pay plan, level/grade/pay, tenure, and
expiration date). The Plum Book concludes with several appendices with detailed information
about pay systems88 and appointment categories.89

85

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at iii (Foreword).

86

Id.

87

Id.

88

The major pay plans include: AD = Administratively Determined Rates; ES = Senior Executive Service; EX
= Executive Schedule; FA = Foreign Service Chiefs of Mission; FE = Senior Foreign Service; FP = Foreign Service
Specialist; GS = General Schedule; PD = Daily Pay Rate (per diem); SL = Senior Level; TM = Federal Housing
Finance Board Merit Pay; VH = Farm Credit Administration Pay Plan; WC = Without Compensation; OT = Other
Pay Plan (all those not listed separately). Id. at vi (Legend, Column 5).
89

The major pay plans include: PAS = Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation; PA = Presidential
Appointment (without Senate Confirmation); CA = Career Appointment; NA = Noncareer Appointment; EA =
Limited Emergency Appointment; TA = Limited Term Appointment; SC = Schedule C Excepted Appointment; XS
= Appointment Excepted by Statute. Id. at v (Legend, Column 4).

21

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Relevant to this report, the Plum Book specifically identifies the total number of overall
positions subject to presidential appointment (those requiring Senate confirmation and those that
do not) within each agency in a substantive appendix.90 The publication also identifies PAS, PA,
and SES officials throughout the specific agency listings when relevant to a specific position or
individual in the “Type of Appointment” or “Pay Plan” columns. As Professor O’Connell has
noted, the Plum Book mistakenly lists certain PAS positions when Congress eliminated the
Senate’s role in 2012.91
Many positions are not covered in the Plum Book. For example, competitive service
positions are not included, Senior Executive Service “Career Reserved” positions are not covered
(because they must be filled by a career appointee),92 and certain competitive positions filled
under agency merit systems established by statute are not included.
The Foreword to the 2016 Edition of the Plum Book includes a prominent disclaimer:
“The information for this committee print was provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management [OPM] on October 31, 2016. Only grammatical and technical modifications have
been made.”93 As a result, by the time the information was published in December 2016, it was
already outdated by at least 31 days (likely more) during a period of substantial vacancies and
turnover in the executive establishment.94 Because of the December publication date just after
the presidential election, many offices will be vacant and not include names as the outgoing
administration and its appointees depart government service in advance of the new incoming
administration (and its appointees).95

90

Id. at 213 (Appendix No. 1).

91
See O’Connell, Acting Agency Officials, supra note 64, at 101 (citing Presidential Appointment Efficiency
and Streamlining Act of 2011, Pub. L. No. 112-166, 126 Stat. 1283 (2012)).

To clarify, the Plum Book “lists only [SES] General positions since [SES] Career Reserved positions must be
filled by a career appointee.” THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 227. Notwithstanding this general omission, SES
General positions can be filled by career, noncareer, and limited appointees so there are still many Plum Book
positions designated as both SES and filled by a career appointee.
92

93

Id. at iii (Foreword).

Anne Joseph O’Connell, Vacant Offices: Delays in Staffing Top Agency Positions, 82 S. CAL. L. REV. 958–
59, 962 (2008).
94

95

See id.

22

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

Availability
Once assembled, the Government Publishing Office issues a press release describing the
numerous ways to access the Plum Book: for paperback print copies, the GPO provides links to
an online bookstore where it is available for purchase.96 The Plum Book is also available online
for free on a dedicated website with robust accessibility tools and archival editions going back to
1996.97 The electronic edition of the Plum Book is downloadable in its entirety in multiple
formats, or users can download or view specific portions of the publication. Interestingly, there’s
(allegedly) an app for that: the most recent news release for the 2016 Edition indicated that there
is (or was) a dedicated Plum Book app available on mobile devices. Unfortunately, the links were
not functioning properly, and the author could not locate any such app on an app store.
Summary
Because the Plum Book reports data requested and gathered from OPM databases and
identifies PAS, PA, and SES officials by agency and by position, it is a very helpful resource that
is both publicly available in easy-to-access formats and very comprehensive. But the information
is up-to-date for only a brief time because the Plum Book is only gathered and published once
every four years (due to its origins, objectives, and lack of mandate).98 The new president-elect
can use the information in the Plum Book to make plans for his or her new administration, but
the Plum Book becomes quickly outdated given the time delay and as new appointees begin to
fill out the new administration. This gap is even more pronounced with the context that during
this transition high-level officials are leaving numerous positions during this transition.99

96

The most recent 2016 Edition retails for $41. See Bookstore: United States Government Policy and
Supporting
Positions,
December
1,
2016
(Plum
Book),
GOV’T
PUBL’G
OFF.,
https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/united-states-government-policy-and-supporting-positions-december-1-2016plum-book-0 (last visited Nov. 13, 2019). A few older editions are available at a discount. See Bookstore: United
States Government Policy and Supporting Positions 2012 (Plum Book), GOV’T PUBL’G OFF.,
https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/united-states-government-policy-and-supporting-positions-2012-plum-book (last
visited Nov. 13, 2019); Bookstore: United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, 2008 (Plum Book),
GOV’T PUBL’G OFF., https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/united-states-government-policy-and-supporting-positions2008-plum-book (last visited Aug. 19, 2019).
United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions (Plum Book), GOV’T PUBL’G OFF.,
https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/plumbook?path=/GPO/United%20States%20Government%20Policy%20and%20Supporting%20Positions%20%2528Plu
m%20Book%2529 (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
97

98
This finding comports with other similar reports. See, e.g., GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE
DATA, supra note 5, at 10 (“While the data are comprehensive and publicly available, they are not timely.”).
99
See O’Connell, Vacant Offices, supra note 94, at 958–59, 962 (describing turnover and general trends during
this time).

23

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

(ii)

Official Congressional Directory

Background
Described as “one of the oldest working handbooks within
the United States Government,” the Official Congressional
Directory is published by Congress in partnership with the
Government Publishing Office.100 The Congressional Directory
provides a great deal of information about Congress, the executive
branch (the White House, departments, and independent
agencies), the federal courts, the government of the District of
Columbia, international organizations, and the press. This
publication is not limited to executive branch positions, unlike the
Plum Book (as explained more fully below).
The Joint Committee on Printing shall direct the
preparation of the Official Congressional Directory, which “shall
be printed and distributed as early as practicable during the first
session of each Congress[.]”101 Although the Joint Committee controls the total number of copies
and distribution, Section 721(b) requires the Joint Committee to prepare and deliver a clothbound copy to “Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives (including Delegates
and the Resident Commissioner)” with the name of the member “imprinted on the cover[.]”102
Not every Congress demanded such high standards. Unofficial directories date back to
the First Congress in 1789, but scholars and historians consider the 30th Congress’ 1847
Congressional Directory—which Congress both ordered and funded—to be the first official
edition.103
Today, a small project team officially compiles the Congressional Directory.104 The
project team consists of approximately six Government Publishing Office employees detailed to
100

CONGRESS, OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY: 115TH CONGRESS, supra note 11 (“Foreword”).

101

44 U.S.C. § 721(a).

102

Id. § 721(b).

CONGRESS, OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY: 115TH CONGRESS, supra note 11 (“Foreword”). Some of
the oldest directories available in digitized archives appear to group Members by, among other things, their
“boarding houses” or “place of abode.” See, e.g., S. A. ELLIOT, 1827–1828 CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY: 20TH
CONGRESS, available at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112120085391&view=1up&seq=7 (last visited
Nov. 13, 2019) (grouping Members by, among other things, their places of abode); GEORGE WATTERSTON, PICTURE
OF
WASHINGTON
WITH
DIRECTORY
(1840),
available
at
https://books.google.com/books?id=VtfC1aNc2VIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=o
nepage&q&f=false (last visited Nov. 13, 2019) (26th Congress, which also included prose descriptions of public
buildings in “A Picture of Washington Directory” along with descriptions of government officeholders and
officials).
103

104

CONGRESS, OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY: 115TH CONGRESS, supra note 11 (“Foreword”).

24

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
the project who serve in various editing roles and are supervised by a project manager. The
project team works with the Committee to obtain the legislative information. With respect to the
executive branch information, staff members circulate each agency’s listing from the most recent
edition to an agency contact during the production cycle. The agency contacts furnish updated
information by returning a Word or PDF document, which the staff members then convert to an
internal file with coding necessary for final formatting and publication purposes. The entire
process can take approximately 1½ to 2 years to produce, with varying staffing demands
depending on the stage of the production cycle.
The July 2018 Edition of the Congressional Directory prepared for the 115th Congress is
more than 1,200 pages of text.105 It does not indicate the total number of officials or positions
covered. The project team prepares a supplement to be printed and distributed “as early as
practicable during the second regular session of each Congress.”106 The Joint Committee on
Printing “established the practice of producing periodic online interim issues to ensure the
public’s economical access to current Congressional information.”107 Such interim issues are not
printed and the volume of submitted changes determines the frequency of online revisions.
Coverage
Although Congress mandates and pays for the Congressional Directory, the authorizing
statute does not provide much guidance about the required content. That appears to be largely
left to the Committee and tradition.
The most recent edition of the Congressional Directory for the 115th Congress, which
convened on January 3, 2017, notes that the “closing date” for its compilation was July 27, 2018.
As advertised, the Congressional Directory presents:
(1) “Short biographies of each member of the Senate and House, listed by state or
district[;]”
(2) “Committee memberships, terms of service, administrative assistants and/or
secretaries, and room and telephone numbers for Members of Congress[,]”
including office listings identifying some staff members; and
(3) “[O]fficials of the courts, military establishments, and other Federal
departments and agencies, including D.C. government officials, governors of
states and territories, foreign diplomats, and members of the press, radio, and
television galleries.”108

105

Id., available at https://www.govinfo.gov/features/CDIR-115.

106

44 U.S.C. § 721(a).

107
Congressional Directory, 104th Congress (1995–1996) to Present, GOV’T PUBL’G
https://www.govinfo.gov/help/cdir (last visited Nov. 13, 2019) (“About the Congressional Directory”).

OFF.,

108
Congressional Directory, GOV’T PUBL’G OFF., https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/CDIR (last visited
Nov. 13, 2019).

25

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
The member biographies (and information about their offices and staff) “are based on
information furnished or authorized by the respective Senators and Representatives.”109
Numerous lists accompany the basic information about members, such as alphabetical lists;
postal zip codes; terms of continuous service; numerous statistics; historical information;
committee information; and information about various congressional boards, commissions,
groups, legislative branch offices, and other offices. Prose descriptions about the Capitol
buildings and grounds conclude the legislative portion of the Congressional Directory.
Next, the Congressional
Directory delves into the
executive branch, starting with
the President and the Executive
Office of the President, moving
to the departments, and then to
the independent agencies. The
coverage includes names, job
titles, phone numbers, and
addresses for many high-level
officials in many offices across
each department and agency,
and even identifies vacant offices and certain acting officials. The Congressional Directory does
not clearly indicate which positions are included or omitted in the listings of officials in the
departments and independent agencies, so there is no easy way to tell if these listings include all
PAS, PA, and SES positions. Generally, staff members circulate the agency’s listing from the
most recent edition to an agency contact during the production cycle. The agency contacts
furnish updated information by returning a Word or PDF document. Agency contacts are free to
alter the included positions, but they generally stick with the list GPO staff members provide.
In the remaining sections, the Congressional Directory focuses on the judicial branch; the
District of Columbia government; international organizations; foreign diplomatic offices; press
galleries and the media; congressional district maps; and a comprehensive name index.

109

CONGRESS, OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY: 115TH CONGRESS, supra note 11, at 1.

26

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Availability
GPO prepares personalized copies of the Congressional Directory and delivers them to
Members of Congress in accordance with the statutory authorization, but GPO is authorized to
(and does) print copies for public sale in order to recoup printing costs.110 GPO officially releases
the Congressional Directory approximately one month later (August 24, 2018 for the most recent
edition for the 115th Congress).
Alongside the printed copies, GPO also publicly releases the entire Congressional
Directory online for free. The official website allows users to download the entire 1,267-page
document in multiple formats. There is also a robust navigation tool on the website to download
or review specific sections, and users can also search the entire document with basic search
functions. Users can also access archival editions dating back to the 104th Congress (1995–96).
Summary
Like the Plum Book, the information in the Congressional Directory is up-to-date for
only a brief time due to these statutory and historical roots. Significantly for this report, the
published information does not specifically identify PAS, PA, and SES officials (or meaningfully
distinguish them from the other submitted information) and the information provided for any
individual position is limited because of the publication’s objective and purpose.

110

44 U.S.C. § 722. The most recent edition for the 115th Congress costs $45 on GPO’s online bookstore. See
Bookstore: Official Congressional Directory: 115th Congress (Paperback), GOV’T PUBL’G OFF.,
https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/official-congressional-directory-115th-congress-paperback (last visited Nov. 13,
2019).

27

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

(iii)

U.S. Government Manual

Background
As part of its general transparency provisions, the
Administrative Procedure Act directs each agency to “separately
state and currently publish in the Federal Register for the guidance
of the public—(A) descriptions of its central and field organization
and the established places at which, the employees […] from
whom, and the methods whereby, the public may obtain
information, make submittals or requests, or obtain decisions[.]”111
For many decades, agencies have satisfied this obligation by
submitting information to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR)
at the National Archives and Records Administration to be
published in the United States Government Manual, the “official
handbook of the Federal Government.”112
The Federal Register Act113 charged the Administrative Committee of the Federal
Register with the responsibility of issuing regulations governing Federal Register publications,
including special editions.114 Beginning on August 4, 1949, the Federal Register produced the
United States Government Organization Manual as an annual special edition (available for $1
per copy in 1949).115
The Government Manual continued to be one of the Government Printing Office’s bestselling publications for many years. In 1968, the Administrative Conference of the United States
offered a formal recommendation for improving the Government Manual.116 The advent of the
Internet brought declining public demand for print editions.117 In 2011, the Administrative
Committee of the Federal Register issued new rules with respect to publishing the Government

111

5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(1)(A).

112

Regulations Affecting Publication of the United States Government Manual, 76 Fed. Reg. 6,311 (Admin.
Comm. of the Fed. Register Feb. 4, 2011) (codified as amended at 1 C.F.R. pt. 9, 11, 12). See also NARA,
GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12, at 1; 1 C.F.R. §§ 9.1, 9.2 (2019).
113

44 U.S.C. §§ 1501 et seq.

114

Id. § 1506. See also Regulations Affecting Publication of the United States Government Manual, supra note

112.
115

Regulations Affecting Publication of the United States Government Manual, supra note 112. Before this, the
responsibility for the publication was in the Office of Government Reports within the Bureau of Budget until it was
abolished on June 30, 1948.
116

See, e.g., Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 68-2, U.S. Government Organization Manual (Dec.
11, 1968).
117

Regulations Affecting Publication of the United States Government Manual, supra note 112.

28

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Manual as an updated online database.118 The digital version now serves as the main publication
because “[p]rinted editions of the [the Government Manual] stopped after 2013.”119
Today, the Office of the Federal Register’s Daily Issue Unit updates and produces the
Government Manual. As of August 7, 2017, the Daily Issue Unit updates agency information “on
a year-round basis” and production “is no longer tied to an annual cycle of updating agency
information.”120 As part of their duties, the staff of nine employees and a supervisor carry out the
responsibility of editing and updating the Government Manual by reaching out to agencies and
conducting their own diligent research about relevant personnel changes using agency websites,
news articles, and other methods. Changes are immediately pushed to the online database
accessible using the Government Manual website, and those changes are later included in the
published version when it is updated annually.
The Government Manual generally includes information about the legislative, judicial,
and executive branches, as well as quasi-official agencies,121 international organizations with
U.S. membership, and various federal boards, commissions, and committees.122 The most recent
2018 Edition spans 976 PDF pages (but there are some odd formatting issues that seem to inflate
this number when compared to the old print editions).123 With a publication date of December 3,
2018, the Daily Issue Unit pulled a snapshot of the database and the information hosted on the
Government Manual website on that date to create the downloadable documents.
Coverage
The APA, the Federal Register Act, and the Administrative Committee of the Federal
Register’s regulations control the Government Manual’s working definition of agency and the
scope of the publication’s content.124 Together with historical practice, the Government Manual
uses an expansive definition of agency and includes many entities not included in other
publications (for example, international bilateral and multilateral organizations in which the
United States participates). The OFR staff will make changes to the agencies covered (for the
creation of new agencies, for example), and they are well positioned to do so within the OFR
because they frequently interact with agencies. As long as they comply with the broad agency
regulations, agencies appear to retain discretion over the scope of the content included in their
Government Manual entries and they review their OFR entries periodically.125

118

Id.

119

NARA, GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12, at 163 (“Contact Information and News”).

120

Id.

121

For example, Legal Services Corporation, Smithsonian Institution, State Justice Institute, and United States
Institute of Peace.
122

NARA, GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12, at 1, 173–74. See also 1 C.F.R. § 9.2 (2019).

123

NARA, GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12.

124

5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(1)(A); 44 U.S.C. §§ 1501 et seq.; 1 C.F.R. §§ 9.1, 9.2 (2019).

125

1 C.F.R. §§ 9.1, 9.2 (2019).

29

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
In terms of scope, the Government Manual is organized roughly as follows: introductory
front matter (Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and a general organizational chart of
the federal government); sections covering the legislative branch, judicial branch, and executive
branch, which include the listings of officials; other miscellaneous sections covering boards,
commissions, and committees; commonly used agency acronyms; contact information and news;
links to external resources; sections covering quasi-official agencies and international agencies;
and finally a history of agency organizational changes.126
Relevant to this project, each executive agency entry should include “(1) [d]escriptions of
the agency’s legal authorities, public purposes, programs, and functions; (2) [e]stablished places
and methods whereby the public may obtain information and make submittals or requests; and
(3) [l]ists of officials heading major operating units.”127 Other regulations also mention that the
Government Manual should include “brief information about quasi-official agencies and
supplemental information that, in the opinion of the Director, is of enough public interest to
warrant.”128
A typical agency entry includes: a list of officials heading major operating units; a
summary of the agency’s mission and role; a brief agency history, including its legislative or
executive authority; a description of agency programs and activities; and agency websites, street
addresses, and phone numbers for services, benefits, and other public information.129
Many entries include a basic organizational chart. However, other researchers have
mentioned inconsistencies with the agency information.130 For example, not all agencies include
the
same
details
about
agency
characteristics and design details, and the
Government Manual does not include
details about fixed terms, term lengths, and
the number of appointees.131 The website
helpfully notes that its focus is on programs
and activities, not “detailed organizational
structure, the regulatory documents of an
agency, or Presidential documents[.]”132
Relevant here, the agency entries do not
identify agency officials appointed by the
President in any distinguishable way that is
126

NARA, GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12.

127

1 C.F.R. § 9.2(a) (2019).

128

Id. § 9.2(b).

129

NARA, GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12, at 173–74.

130

SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 5 n.18.

131

NARA, GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12.

United
States
Government
Manual,
1995
to
Present,
GOV’T
PUBL’G
OFF.,
https://www.govinfo.gov/help/govman (last visited Nov. 13, 2019) (“About the United States Government
Manual”).
132

30

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
consistent across the publication (though some agencies may identify some helpful information
in a general section about the agency).133 Relevant to this project, it does not appear that the
agency listings include all PAS, PA, and SES positions (though the lack of information set forth
in the publication somewhat complicates this assessment). This is largely due to the publication’s
distinct objective and purpose.
Each covered agency must appoint a liaison officer to ensure the agency complies with
all regulations related to the Government Manual.134 OFR relies on information submitted by the
agency liaison officers to keep the Government Manual updated, in addition to its own outreach,
research, and editing efforts.135 OFR staff editors “review and edit the submissions to produce
organized and concise descriptions of Federal agency programs and activities.”136 Agency liaison
officers verify the accuracy of content at least annually, but OFR staff exercise “final editorial
control over all editions of the Government Manual.”137 In practice, staff members will actively
reach out to agency contacts (or find new contacts if prior liaisons are no longer with the
agency), review agency websites, review news articles, and conduct other research to determine
whether updates are necessary.
Availability
As explained above, there is no longer a printed publication produced each year; the
process today is focused on updating the online database, which is immediately published on the
public-facing website.138 The public website provides helpful links and navigational tools, as
well as a search function that provides additional tools to help users find what they need. OFR
staff indicated that the website most recently had 14 million annual views.
OFR continues to pull an annual edition from the online database they continuously
update, but it is largely a static copy of screenshots from OFR’s webpage/database (screenshots
for each agency entry) page organized into a large PDF (or XML, MODS, PREMIS, and ZIP)
file available for download (or available in sections). This static publication does not appear to
be available to purchase in a print edition on GPO’s bookstore given the recent electronic
transition. Some older editions of the Government Manual are still available to purchase from
GPO’s online bookstore.139

133

NARA, GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12.

134

1 C.F.R. § 20.1 (2019).

135

NARA, GOVERNMENT MANUAL, supra note 12, at 173–74. See also United States Government Manual:
About Us, GOV’T PUBL’G OFF., https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/AboutUs.aspx (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
136

United States Government Manual: About Us, supra note 135.

137

Id.

138
The United States Government Manual, GOV’T PUBL’G OFF., https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/ (last
visited Nov. 13, 2019).
139
U.S.
Government
Bookstore,
GOV’T
PUBL’G
https://bookstore.gpo.gov/search/products?keywords=government+manual (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).

31

OFF.,

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
The Government Manual website contains all annual editions dating back to the 1995–96
Edition.140 These annual editions are available to download (in several different formats
depending on how recent the edition).141
Summary
The Government Manual focuses on providing the public with information about agency
programs, locations, missions, and important officials. OFR staff members work with agency
contacts and conduct their own research in order to keep the online database updated. Most
relevant to this project, the agency pages do not specifically identify PAS, PA, and SES officials
(or meaningfully distinguish them from the other submitted information), and they do not appear
to cover all PAS, PA, and SES officials. Again, this is largely due to the unique purpose and
objective of the publication. This would be a major hurdle to repurposing and centralizing
information about presidentially appointed officials using this database.

United
States
Government
Manual,
GOV’T
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/GOVMAN/ (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
140

141

Id.

32

PUBL’G

OFF.,

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

(iv)

Other Nongovernmental Sources

There is significant public interest in obtaining information about the occupants of highlevel positions in federal agencies, and publishing this information is critical for transparency
and effective monitoring and participation in the work of government.
For example, the GAO has stated the obvious point that “[t]he public has an interest in
knowing who is serving in the government and making policy decisions[,]” a proposition it
supports by referencing 32 FOIA requests at OPM for data on agency political appointments
between January 2017 and November 2018.142 The author also notes that OFR staff (who
assemble the Government Manual) indicated that the Government Manual website most recently
had 14 million annual views. Moreover, the government issues at least three major publications
containing similar information about agency officials serving different purpose and objectives.
There is another proof point about the public demand for better data: several
nongovernmental entities create, collect, and publish their own data about high-level agency
officials. As explored below, these nongovernmental projects face some of the same issues as the
government entities when it comes to collecting and publishing data, but they also face
additional challenges highlighting the importance of a governmental solution. The following
sections describe several examples.

142

GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA, supra note 5, at 12 (also noting White House
officials within the Office of Presidential Personnel reported similar requests for data on political appointees).
Moreover, GAO staff reported several inquiries about the report from nongovernmental individuals or entities
interested in creating their own databases.

33

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

ProPublica
ProPublica, “an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative
journalism[,]”143 was founded in 2007–2008 and has a team of more than 75 dedicated
journalists. One of its missions is to explore whom the President was appointing to run the
federal government; in service of this goal, ProPublica commissioned a project and published its
first dataset of 400 agency officials in March 2017.144 In August 2017, ProPublica expanded the
database to include more than 1,000 agency officials145 and continues to provide updates, most
recently on February 12, 2019.146
ProPublica’s database covers
many categories of political appointees
(not just PAS and PA officials) throughout
the executive branch (including the White
House) and includes information about
names; department/agency; title; salary;
start and end dates; biographical
information about prior employment,
compensation sources, and lobbying
activity; and extensive financial disclosure
information and government ethics
documents.
To compile this data, ProPublica
journalists submitted hundreds of FOIA
requests to OPM, departments, and
agencies;
delivered
administrative
requests to agencies; partnered with other
organizations (including the Associated
Press and New York Times); sought the
public’s help; used staff to supplement
this data with publicly available
information (by hand and using

143

ProPublica: About Us, The Mission, PROPUBLICA, https://www.propublica.org/about/ (last visited Nov. 13,

2019).
144

Trump Town: About the Project, ONLINE JOURNALISM AWARDS, https://awards.journalists.org/entries/trumptown/ (last visited Nov. 13, 2019). ProPublica published a similar database of appointees under the prior
administration.
See
The
Obama
Team’s
Disclosure
Documents,
PROPUBLICA,
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-obama-teams-disclosure-documents-407 (Apr. 7, 2009).
145

Trump Town: About the Project, supra note 144.

146
Track White House Staff, Cabinet Members and Political Appointees Across the Government, PROPUBLICA,
https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/ (last updated Feb. 12, 2019).

34

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
specialized software); and even consulted other similar nongovernmental databases tracking
political appointees.147 As of August 2019, the ProPublica database included information about
3,232 appointees. GAO reported in March 2019 that “ProPublica said it has had more than
166,000 unique visitors to its database since it launched in March 2018.”148

147

How We Compiled Trump Town, PROPUBLICA, https://www.propublica.org/article/how-we-compiled-trumptown (Mar. 7, 2018).
148

GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA, supra note 5, at 13.

35

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

Partnership for Public Service and the Washington Post

The Partnership for Public Service, “a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to
improve government,”149 created a Political Appointee Tracker in collaboration with the
Washington Post.150 This database tracks over 700 “key” executive branch PAS positions.151
For each position, the database includes the job title, the department or agency, a brief
description of the position, a nomination timeline for each nominee, the name of the individual,
and the current status of that individual (including when there is no nominee).152

As of the September 2019, there were 145 positions with no nominee, 8 awaiting
nomination, 99 formally nominated, and 480 confirmed individuals.153 The database also
includes information about confirmed officials who have resigned and withdrawn nominees.154
To compile this information, the Partnership for Public Service staff monitors publicly available
resources, such as agency websites and Congress.gov.155 GAO reported that tracking information
about lower-level PAS positions proves most difficult given that they are not covered as
149

Id. at 12 n.21.

150

Political Appointee Tracker, PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE, https://ourpublicservice.org/politicalappointee-tracker/ (last visited Sept. 6, 2019).
151

Id.

152

Id.

153

Id.

154

Id.

155

GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA, supra note 5, at 12.

36

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
thoroughly in the media, and collecting departure dates is reportedly the most difficult aspect of
the Partnership for Public Service’s data collection efforts.156

156

Id.

37

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Other Leadership Directories
Numerous paid services and products are also available to the public. Examples include
GovPredict,157 Leadership Connect (formerly Leadership Directories),158 the Federal Yellow
Book,159 and Politico Pro,160 which provide paid products that
include information about important agency and department
officials.
For example, Leadership Connect provides contact
information about federal department and agency leadership;
SES appointees; advisors; program managers; policy-makers;
deputies; directors; assistants; CIOs; IT, human resources,
communications, operations, acquisitions, and financial
officers “for every department, independent agency, and
office, including the EOP and all military branches[;]” as
well as interactive organizational charts covering 33,000
federal offices.161 Profiles include contact information,
background about career and education, connections, listbuilding tools, search functions, and the ability to incorporate this information into other
databases.162

157

GovPredict, GOVPREDICT, INC., https://govpredict.com (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).

158

Leadership Connect, LEADERSHIP CONNECT, https://www.leadershipconnect.io/ (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).

159

Leadership Directories, LEADERSHIP CONNECT, https://www.leadershipconnect.io/products/print-leadershipdirectories/ (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
160

The New Politico Pro, POLITICO PRO, https://www.politicopro.com (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).

161
Leadership Connect: Products, LEADERSHIP CONNECT, https://www.leadershipconnect.io/products/ (last
visited Nov. 13, 2019).
162
Id. Information about federal government officials is one of many product offerings focusing on different
sectors or communities.

38

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

These tools provide helpful information to those who can afford to purchase them, but for
this reason they are not publicly available to anyone. These tools generally provide contact and
biographical information to help customers easily locate people and their contact information.
Given the scope of this study, the author briefly mentions these paid resources to provide
additional context.163

Summary
Nongovernmental entities rely (in part) on a request-based approach, which requires time
and resources for the staff to prepare the request and more time and resources for the agency to
process the request, collect the data, and respond to the request. Then, the requester must convert
and prepare the data for publication or inclusion in the database. This process must repeat itself
across hundreds of departments, subcomponents, and agencies, and the database almost
immediately becomes outdated upon delivery (requiring the process to begin anew). This process
is highly inefficient and requires extraordinary time and effort on the part of both government
staffers and staffers at the nongovernmental entity. The fact that these entities willingly pursue
these avenues to create this data demonstrates how valuable and valued these datasets can be to
the public at large (as does the fact that individuals and organizations are willing to pay money to
access the data). More importantly, these facts show the important role government must play in
any solution.

163
The author examined publicly available information about these publications and databases because they are
paid services.

39

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

B.

Agency Websites

As described in Part II.C above about the study methodology, the author reviewed agency
websites for the 15 cabinet departments, 15 departmental subcomponents (one selected
subcomponent from each cabinet department), and 59 other independent agencies.164 The author
coded each agency website across approximately 11 different categories examining different
aspects of how the website published information about the agency’s PAS, PA, and SES officials
in August 2019. The categories examined whether and how extensively the agencies published
information about their PAS, PA, and SES officials, such as their names, titles, start dates, and
the terms of their appointments; whether the agency published information about vacant
positions or acting officials; and whether the agency published organizational charts and archival
data about any PAS, PA, or SES positions. Additionally, the author recorded notes about the
websites and any insights that would be relevant to the project and analyzing the data.
Descriptions of some of the more significant findings as a result of this research and analysis
follow.
For the companion project, Professor O’Connell specifically addresses the accessibility
of acting leadership information on agency websites and similarly offers recommendations about
disclosing acting agency officials on agency websites.165
General
After carefully reviewing dozens of government websites, the main takeaway is that each
website is unique and approaches the presentation of information in slightly different ways. This
will pose one obstacle for prescribing specific solutions and will require each agency to exercise
discretion in applying any recommendations. Despite this variance, several general trends
emerged with respect to how extensively agencies publish information about their high-level
officials.
•

In general, this review focused mainly on PAS and PA officials identified in the
Plum Book. This review showed different treatment of PAS officials and lowerlevel PA officials, with significantly less information available in general about
the latter group of PA officials. There is even less information about the next
layers of government officials (SES positions) available on these websites (though
there were a handful of websites that provided comprehensive employee
directories).

164
As used here, “59 other independent agencies” means those agencies included in OPM’s data submitted for
the Acting Agency Officials and Delegations of Authority project, see supra note 64, and included in the ACUS
Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies. See also supra note 78.
165
See O’Connell, Acting Agency Officials, supra note 64, at 44–46, 64–73 (encouraging greater disclosure by
agencies).

40

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
•

Nearly all departments, departmental subcomponents, and other independent
agencies provided a prominent link on their website to thorough information
about at least some PAS/PA/SES officials on a centralized webpage (typically
phrased “About Us”). These pages typically included the name, title, and brief
biography of each listed official.

•

There was a wide range of practices when it came to providing information about
the dates of service (appointment, nomination, confirmation, sworn). This made it
difficult to find information easily and consistently.

•

Most departments, departmental subcomponents, and other independent agencies
did not provide clear and thorough information about vacancies among PAS/PA
positions. A substantial number of departments (6 of 15, or 40%), departmental
subcomponents (4 of 8, or 50%), and other independent agencies (13 of 33, or
39%) provided no information about vacant PAS/PA positions.

•

Significant numbers of surveyed departments (6 of 15, or 40%), departmental
subcomponents (5 of 15, or 33%), and other independent agencies (23 of 59, or
39%) did not provide an organizational chart on their website. Those departments
that included an organizational chart provided only limited information in their
organizational charts. Some organizational charts were difficult to locate. They
were not prominently displayed, which required using the agency website’s
search tool. Most commonly, organizational charts were posted as graphics or as
PDF documents.

•

Many other independent agencies (27 of 59, or 46%) and departmental
subcomponents (8 of 15, or 53%) did not include archival information about any
PAS/PA officials.

•

Departments provided noticeably less information about the entire range of
PAS/PA officials within the entire department (including subcomponents).
Department websites typically covered only the highest positions most closely
associated with the Secretary.

•

Departmental subcomponents generally provided very thorough information
about the entire range of PAS/PA officials within the entire subunit.

Departments
•

Many department websites provided appointment dates only in the biography of
the individual official, which resulted in inconsistencies among different officials.
For example, some officials would provide an appointment date, nomination date,
Senate confirmation date, swearing in date, or some combination, while other
officials would provide different dates. This served as an obstacle to easily access
and consolidate this information.

41

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
•

Departments provided noticeably better information about high-level acting
officials (if they identified vacancies).

•

Departments provided noticeably better archival information than independent
agencies and subcomponents, but this coverage was typically very limited
(typically only the Secretary). Three departments did not provide any archival
information about any PAS/PA official.

•

Many departments did not include detailed information in their organizational
charts (if they provided one at all).

Departmental Subcomponents
•

Many departmental subcomponents provided appointment dates in the biography
of the listed officials, which resulted in inconsistencies among different officials.
For example, some officials would provide an appointment date, nomination date,
Senate confirmation date, swearing in date, or some combination, while other
officials would provide different dates.

•

Some departmental subcomponents (7 of 15, or 47%) provided thorough archival
information about PAS/PA officials.
C.

Centralized Entities

This report considers whether any centralized government entity is best positioned to
collect and publish real-time information about high-level agency officials. The project proposal
identified three potential candidates: the Office of Presidential Appointments in the Department
of State, the Office of Personnel Management, and the White House Office of Presidential
Personnel. The following subsections summarize information about each entity after reviewing
publicly available information (mainly on agency websites), researching primary sources and any
secondary sources or other reports about the entity, and holding supplemental conversations with
relevant government employees.
(i)

Department of State: Office of Presidential Appointments

Upon the President’s nomination and confirmation of an official to a PAS position (or the
appointment of an official to a position not subject to Senate confirmation), the White House
transmits a notification of the appointment and request for a formal commission to the Office of
Presidential Appointments (OPA), a small office housed within the Department of State’s
Bureau of Human Resources. There is very little publicly available information about this office
and its functions.166 With approximately ten staff members (as of November 2019167), the Office
of Presidential Appointments prepares the requested Presidential commission and works with the
agency to deliver the commission once it has been prepared (either to the agency or directly to
166

The author spoke with a current staff member to learn more about the basic operation of this office.

DEP’T OF STATE, TELEPHONE DIRECTORY (UNCLASSIFIED) OD-39 (Nov. 6, 2019), available at
https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Org-Directory.pdf.
167

42

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
the appointee). Staffers then transmit the commission along with a transmittal memo, copies of
which the agency and OPA are responsible for maintaining for their respective records.
Relevant to this project, the White House transmits their requests electronically (typically
by email), and OPA does not track or maintain other records (current or archival) of these
commission requests and deliveries in an electronic database. While certain employees may have
scattered email records concerning individual commissions and requests, the office does not
currently maintain comprehensive electronic records of active or past commissions that have
been requested or delivered.
(ii)

White House Office of Presidential Personnel

The White House Office of Presidential Personnel helps the President “recruit and
nominate highly qualified people to lead the executive branch.”168 Presidents have appointed
executive branch officials throughout history, but there have been dramatic changes to this
practice over time. Throughout the nineteenth century, a change in the party occupying the
presidency meant widespread turnover in the federal workforce.169 The Pendleton Act of 1883
created the civil service system for many positions after the assassination of President James
Garfield by a disgruntled political supporter who had not received a desired post.170 The White
House lacked institutional capacity to recruit political appointees throughout most of the next
century (aside from the highest Cabinet and top-level presidential appointees). Over time,
however, control over the remaining appointments (outside the civil service merit system) grew
more centralized.171
President Nixon established the “White House Personnel Office” (WHPO). Led by Fred
Malek and approximately thirty staff members, WHPO carried out a formal executive search
function for all presidential appointments (but not lower-level appointments).172 President
Reagan also centralized this function by giving Pendleton James a West Wing office and the title
of Assistant to the President (“the highest designation for a White House staffer”).173 President
Reagan and James’ office (numbering 100 staffers and volunteers immediately after the election)
expanded control over appointments to all non-career SES positions and Schedule C
appointments (even though they are technically made by the Cabinet secretaries and agency
heads).174

168

Pfiffner, supra note 35, at 3.

169

Id. at 2.

170

Id.

171

Id.

172

Id. See also James M. Naughton, Nixon's Talent Hunter Also Wields Executive Hatchet, N.Y. TIMES, July 12,
1971, at 18.
173

Pfiffner, supra note 35, at 3.

174

Id.

43

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Over time, the presidential personnel operations have become more professional and
institutionalized, larger in size, and expanded to cover many more positions.175 Today, the Office
of Presidential Personnel directly supports the President’s appointment efforts with 30 to 40 staff
members and volunteers led by a trusted Assistant to the President.176 During the transition and
beginning of the administration, the transition personnel team can balloon to 100 staffers and
volunteers in order to establish and to execute a successful transition.177 After the initial rush, the
office continues its efforts to manage the substantial volume of applicants, track vacant positions
subject to presidential appointment, recruit and vet individuals for vacant positions (or upcoming
vacancies), and provide recommendations to the President about thousands of executive branch
positions subject to presidential appointment.
The office generally relies on the Plum Book to define the universe of available
presidentially appointed positions and establish its internal tracking lists. As of October 2016, the
Plum Book listed 1,242 PAS positions, 472 PA positions, 761 noncompetitive positions in the
Senior Executive Service, and the 1,538 Schedule C appointments. 178 The White House Office
of Presidential Personnel reportedly focuses on a subgroup of 600 PAS positions involved in
policymaking at the highest levels of the executive branch.179
The White House Office of Presidential Personnel does not publish these internal listings
of officials, and the internal lists are not otherwise publicly available, even after an official is
confirmed or appointed.180 Nevertheless, the White House issues press releases when the
President announces his intent to nominate individuals to key positions.181
Prior government efforts to learn more about Office of Presidential Personnel practices
have not succeeded.182 The limited information available about internal practices generally
comes from former White House Office of Presidential Personnel officials.183 Some historical
175

Id. at 5.

176

Id.

177

Id.

178

THE PLUM BOOK, supra note 1, at 216 (Appendix No. 1, Summary of Positions Subject to Noncompetitive
Appointment).
179

Pfiffner, supra note 35, at 6.

180
Under President Obama, the White House website included a distinct Nominations & Appointments page.
Briefing Room: Nominations & Appointments, WHITE HOUSE, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/briefingroom/nominations-and-appointments (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
181

See Presidential Actions, WHITE HOUSE, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/ (last visited Nov.
13, 2019). These press releases are usually issued before an official appointment or nomination.
182

GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA, supra note 5, at 2 (“We contacted the White House
Office of Presidential Personnel (PPO) to discuss and request information on how it tracks, maintains, and uses data
on political appointees. PPO redirected our request for information to the White House Counsel’s Office. As of
March 2019, the White House Counsel’s Office had not responded to our requests for information. We interviewed
two senior PPO officials from the two previous administrations to understand how they tracked and used data on
political appointees.”).
183
Id. See also Pfiffner, supra note 35, at 1 (describing an effort to preserve collective wisdom through
interviews with former officials as part of the White House Transition Project directed by Martha Kumar).

44

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
records are housed in Presidential Library collections, but the coverage and accessibility is
limited due to privacy concerns about sensitive personal information contained in the office’s
files.184 Similar concerns would likely arise with any current data the office maintains.

184

See, e.g., COLLECTION OF PRESIDENTIAL PERSONNEL OFFICE FILES, (1953–73) 1974–77, in GERALD R. FORD
PRESIDENTIAL
LIBRARY
&
MUSEUM,
available
at
https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/findingaid/ppo.asp#Bio (last visited Nov. 13, 2019) (“Working
files of the White House office which handled administration personnel appointments. Included are files on the
search for potential appointees, the screening process used to evaluate candidates and solicit opinions, and the
Presidential decision process. The bulk of the collection concerns appointments to positions in Cabinet departments,
independent regulatory agencies, the Federal judiciary, and the numerous Federal boards and commissions. Only
occasional scattered folders concern appointments to the White House staff.”).

45

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

(iii)

Office of Personnel Management

Background
Tasked in part with providing leadership and guidance to agencies about support systems
to carry out human capital management and other personnel management responsibilities,185 the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) implemented and maintains an extensive governmentwide recordkeeping program.186 OPM requires executive branch agencies to report information
about their civilian employees in compliance with detailed data standards.187
Today, the Enterprise Human Resources Integration Data Warehouse (EHRI DW) is
OPM’s primary data repository for human capital data to support its mission and strategic
goals.188 Prior to about fiscal year 2005, the Central Personnel Data File was OPM’s main
personnel database. Authorized to collect this personnel data by Executive Order 13,197,189
OPM collects human resources, payroll, and training data from federal executive branch
agencies.190 OPM established EHRI DW in order to:
(1) provide for comprehensive knowledge management and workforce analysis,
forecasting, and reporting to further strategic management of human capital
across the executive branch; (2) facilitate the electronic exchange of standardized
human resources data within and across agencies and systems and the associated
benefits and cost savings; and (3) provide unification and consistency in human
capital data across the executive branch.191
To achieve these goals, the system provides “storage, access, and exchange of standard,
electronic human capital information” about each federal executive branch civilian employee and
facilitates data-driven personnel management activities and decision making, oversight and
accountability, and research activities.192

185
5 U.S.C. § 1103. See also Data Policy Guidance, OFF. OF PERSONNEL MGMT., https://www.opm.gov/policydata-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/data-policy-guidance/#url=Overview (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
186

5 C.F.R. §§ 293.101 et seq. (2019).

U.S. GOV’T ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GAO-17-127, FEDERAL HUMAN RESOURCES DATA: OPM SHOULD
IMPROVE THE AVAILABILITY AND RELIABILITY OF PAYROLL DATA TO SUPPORT ACCOUNTABILITY AND WORKFORCE
ANALYTICS 6 n.9 (2016), available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/680381.pdf.
187

188

Id. at 6.

189

Executive Order No. 13,197, 66 Fed. Reg. 7,853 (Jan. 18, 2001).

190

Enterprise Human Resources Integration Privacy Policy, OFF. OF PERSONNEL MGMT.,
https://www.opm.gov/information-management/privacy-policy/privacy-policy/enterprise-human-resourcesintegration/ (last updated Sept. 7, 2007).
191

GAO, FEDERAL HUMAN RESOURCES DATA, supra note 187, at 6.

192

Enterprise Human Resources Integration Privacy Policy, supra note 190.

46

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
OPM works with and approve human resources/payroll data providers to acquire the
relevant employee information to populate EHRI DW. OPM directs data providers to transmit
data securely into EHRI DW, which stores, integrates, and publishes data for two million
employees on a bi-weekly basis (or possibly monthly).193 In order to standardize the data
collection process, OPM publishes detailed guidance materials about the proper format and
method for submitting points to transmit their data each reporting period in the Guide to Human
Resource Reporting. OPM even works with data providers to evaluate test data before fully and
automatically integrating these data feeds into EHRI DW.
Significantly, “each agency is responsible for collecting the data, editing it for validity,
accuracy, and completeness, and furnishing the data to EHRI.”194 Most data elements have
specific formatting requirements, but some do not. For example, there does not appear to be
standardization with respect to job titles, even within an agency.195
Although the informational materials state that EHRI DW imposes some minimum
acceptability requirements and can detect (and reject) invalid data to prevent it from entering the
system, these protocols are limited.196 OPM’s standard procedure is to notify the agency and
allow the agency to submit corrections. However, OPM “may change data element values that
are missing or invalid by matching to older files or making the values consistent with statistical
assumptions. Alteration of agency submitted values is limited to situations where agency
correction is not possible or feasible and failure to act would seriously undermine the usability of
the data.”197 OPM states that agency submissions and corrections process quarterly (in March,
June, September, and December).198
Notably, OPM can track and pull data about PAS, PA, and SES officials based on the
coding categories included in its internal database (as demonstrated by the Plum Book entries).
OPM staff, however, clarified that pulling raw data results in many duplicate entries from agency
data feeds that would need to be cleaned up in some way to be useful for this project.

193

Enterprise Human Resources Integration Data Warehouse, OFF. OF PERSONNEL
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/enterprise-human-resourcesintegration/#url=Data-Warehouse (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).

MGMT.,

194

OFF. OF PERSONNEL MGMT., GUIDE TO HUMAN RESOURCES REPORTING 3-5 (last updated July 31, 2013),
available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysis-documentation/data-policy-guidance/hrreporting/ghrr07_ch3.pdf (Section 3.2, “Overview of HR Data Feeds”).
195

See supra note 64 (describing the OPM data request and supplied information for that companion project).

196

FedScope:
About
EHRI-SDM,
OFF.
OF
PERSONNEL
https://www.fedscope.opm.gov/datadefn/aboutehri_sdm.asp#cpdf1 (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
197

Id.

198

Id.

47

MGMT.,

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

Coverage
EHRI DW data feeds include most federal civilian employees of the executive branch
(approximately two million), but EHRI DW does not include information about:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
Central Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
Foreign Service personnel at the State Department (included until March 2006)
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Security Agency
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Office of the Vice President
Postal Regulatory Commission
Tennessee Valley Authority
U.S. Postal Service
White House Offices
Foreign Nationals holding jobs overseas (excepted by Executive Order)
Public Health Service’s Commissioned Officer Corps
Non-appropriated fund employees
Some legislative branch entities are also included:

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Government Printing Office
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
U.S. – China Economic and Security Review Commission
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

The coverage has also changed over time. For example, the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau began reporting in March 2011; the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not
report data on personnel actions until fiscal year 2007; and the Department of State stopped
providing data about foreign service personnel in 2006.199
Availability
In addition to its own analyses and reports, OPM provides online public access to federal
workforce data at www.fedscope.opm.gov/. This public database is distinct from the OPM-side
of the database and updates less frequently than OPM’s internal data. OPM provides the
199

Id.

48

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
FedScope tool to allow agencies, researchers, the media, and the general public “to access and
analyze the most popular data elements from OPM’s [EHRI] Data Warehouse.”200 Through
FedScope, users can review and manipulate the display of agency data using an online interface.
OPM also provides downloadable raw data sets.201
In November 2018, OPM published a data release policy stating that it “endeavors to
make a wide range of workforce information and reports readily available to the public.”202
Because OPM stores sensitive information it receives directly from agencies and human
resources, there are privacy considerations with certain pieces of information about individual
employees. OPM’s internal databases (not publicly accessible) contain a lot of protected personal
information, so these published raw data sets do not include the same level of detail as the
internal database. There are also delays in publishing updated data to the public. In accordance
with its regulations,203 OPM commits to a general policy of releasing information “at the
individual record level” for the following categories of information: name, job title, grade level,
position description, duty station, and salary.204 As previously mentioned, GAO reports 32 recent
FOIA requests directed to OPM for similar information about political appointments.205
Summary and Findings
OPM is a great candidate to publish information about PAS, PA, and SES agency
officials because this fits squarely within OPM’s mission, this endeavor complements OPM’s
stated transparency goals, and OPM already collects this information directly from agencies and
departments. This data collection is automatic and frequent, but the data quality could be
improved with a coordinated effort. Although some information is already available, the current
tools are a bit difficult to understand and use efficiently. Moreover, the website does not provide
the most up-to-date information available and does not offer the same detail for individual
positions that OPM can access using their internal data tools. The current information OPM
publishes also indicates that there will not be major obstacles (privacy issues or otherwise) with
making this information available to the public. The frequency of FOIA requests to OPM also
indicates that redirected efforts could be efficient over the long term.

200

Data, Analysis & Documentation, OFF. OF PERSONNEL MGMT., https://www.opm.gov/policy-dataoversight/data-analysis-documentation/ (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).
201
Data,
Analysis
& Documentation:
Raw
Datasets,
https://www.opm.gov/data/index.aspx (last visited Nov. 13, 2019).

OFF.

OF

PERSONNEL

MGMT.,

202

Data Release Policy, OFF. OF PERSONNEL MGMT., https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/data-analysisdocumentation/data-policy-guidance/data-standards/data-release-policy-november-2018.pdf (last updated Nov.
2018).
203

See 5 C.F.R. § 293.311 (2019).

204

Data Release Policy, supra note 202.

205
GAO, GOVERNMENT-WIDE POLITICAL APPOINTEE DATA, supra note 5, at 12 (also noting White House
officials within the Office of Presidential Personnel reported similar requests for data on political appointees).

49

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

V.

CONCLUSIONS

ACUS commissioned this report to address whether individual agencies206 and/or a
centralized entity is best positioned to publish real-time information about high-level agency
officials exercising significant decision-making authority in the executive branch. After carefully
considering the research findings described in the first three parts of the report, this part
describes the most noteworthy observations and the best path forward.
Existing Publications
As Table 2 summarizes, none of the existing publications publish comprehensive, realtime information about high level-officials within the scope of this report (PAS, PA, and SES
positions). This is largely because they all have distinct purposes and objectives. The
government publications make their data publicly available online (often using multiple
methods), but most provide only a snapshot in time because of their objective and purpose, and
they are not updated in real-time. The ability of these publications to provide real-time updates is
often constrained by staff resources, the availability of media coverage, agency coordination and
contacts, the lack of access to the best data sources, and similar concerns. Even when updated by
dedicated staffers, the timeliness and quality of data can depend on the responding agency
(whether a contact exists and whether he or she has access to the proper resources), the
availability and thoroughness of media coverage, and other unpredictable factors. Regarding
comprehensiveness, only the Plum Book thoroughly explains how positions are selected for
inclusion in the publication and specifically identifies PAS/PA/SES officials.
Notably, the time and resource demands can be quite high, and there are significant
government inefficiencies related to having several different offices conducting parallel, siloed
activities while trying to accomplish similar goals for different mandates.
Another noteworthy observation here is that a governmental entity would be optimally
positioned to carry out this function. Nongovernmental groups face many of the same obstacles
that government staffers encounter, but the nongovernmental groups also must operate by FOIA
request agency-by-agency. The existence of these private databases, notwithstanding the
significant difficulty and substantial time and resources required to assemble them, shows just
how valuable this information is to the public. Other prudential concerns suggest that
government should play the key role in publishing this information.

206
In this part, agency collectively refers to departments, departmental subcomponents, and other independent
agencies.

50

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Table 2: Summary of Existing Publications
Publication Title

Publicly
Available?

Data Source?

Published every
4 years in Dec.
(data from
Oct.), no
interim updates

Available for free
in print and online
in multiple
formats;
downloadable in
entirety or
specific sections;
extensive archives

OPM

Unclear, covers many
high-level officials,
scope left to agency

Published twice
each Congress;
Oct. 2018 (data
from July)

Agencies

Unclear, covers
officials heading
major operating units,
scope left to agency

Varies by
agency; updated
year-round,
pulls snapshot
of database

Available for free
in print and online
in multiple
formats;
downloadable in
entirety or
specific sections;
extensive archives
Available for free
online in multiple
formats;
downloadable in
entirety or
specific sections;
extensive archives

Varies

Varies

Comprehensive?

Timely?

Plum Book

Covers all PAS207 and
PA positions; also
includes some SES
positions (but not
career-reserved SES
positions)

Congressional
Directory

Government
Manual

Other
Nongovernmental
Sources

207

Varies

Many (mostly
agency
officials)

Many (agency
officials,
FOIA, media)

Professor O’Connell has noted that the Plum Book mistakenly lists certain PAS slots when Congress
eliminated the Senate’s role in 2012. See O’Connell, Acting Agency Officials, supra note 64, at 101 (citing
Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011, Pub. L. No. 112-166, 126 Stat. 1283 (2012)).

51

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Centralized Entities
Briefly, the project proposal identified three centralized governmental entities as possible
candidates for a role in collecting and publishing updated government-wide data about high-level
agency officials. Based on the research findings above, OPM would be best positioned to collect
and publish this information.
The Department of State’s Office of Presidential Appointments focuses only on a subset
of officials within the scope of this report; it does not have data about many of the SES positions
within the scope of this report that are not subject to presidential appointment. Although OPA
does not comprehensively or systematically maintain records or lists related to these appointees
or the commissions the office delivers, it seems like they could easily do so. But even with such
a list, it would not include the entire scope of officials this report contemplates (PAS, PA, and
SES officials).
The Office of Presidential Personnel in the White House similarly focuses on a small
portion of the officials within the scope of this project. The office relies on the Plum Book to
identify relevant positions, but it does not publish internal documents or data about the status of
these positions. The office is uniquely situated in the White House, which adds more
complications (as past efforts at gathering information about these records and practices have
shown). Furthermore, there are additional privacy concerns because historically the records have
been stored alongside much more sensitive information, such as financial records and
background investigation materials.
OPM is best positioned to publish comprehensive data about PAS, PA, and SES officials
in government. OPM should create new database pages to host downloadable datasets for PAS,
PA, and SES agency officials. This would fit in naturally with the current OPM website format
and approach. And this approach would align well with OPM’s mission, commitment to
transparency, and general information-release policies.
OPM already maintains complex databases covering these high-level agency positions,
and these databases automatically incorporate information from the agencies (specifically the HR
servicer or department). Although there are certainly some data quality issues, these can be
overcome with coordinated efforts. OPM already publishes a significant amount of data from its
databases for the public to review, manipulate, and download, so there should be minimal
unanticipated privacy or other legal issues with this approach. The OPM database relies on
regular data submissions from the agencies, so there will be some lag time and there may be
initial data quality issues (beyond the initial issues identified and addressed here). But relying on
OPM data would require the least degree of government disruption.
Publishing this OPM data will be pivotal in providing a place to start, but it will not be
sufficient on its own due to data quality issues with some of the categories. Agencies must also
play a role because they are more knowledgeable than OPM about agency personnel, agency
structure, and other relevant issues.

52

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Agency Role
Agencies are best positioned to publish real-time information about their own PAS, PA,
and SES officials. Agencies should implement systems to ensure that staff departures, arrivals,
vacancies, and acting officials are reflected in their published data and websites soon after these
triggering events occur.
Agencies and OPM should work together to improve this data, particularly with respect
to duplicate data, job titles, and end dates. Agencies may need to revisit their internal practices
and examine how their data is fed into OPM’s databases. After reviewing these processes,
agencies should take steps to improve the data quality, particularly with job titles and end dates.
Agencies should also take reasonable steps to address duplication issues with their data feeds as
they transmit information to OPM. This will allow OPM to publish accurate and high-quality
data about all PAS, PA, and SES officials in agencies.
Aside from these technical tasks, agencies should also review their own websites and
consider how best to publish more comprehensive information about their high-level officials.
For most agencies, this will focus on (1) whether and how to supplement existing information on
the agency’s website (usually about only the highest officials), and (2) whether to include any
new website components to post and display information about PAS, PA, and SES officials in
the agency (or some combination thereof). In order to accomplish these goals, agencies should
review the new OPM data sets, the most recent edition of the Plum Book, and any information
they have about recent changes to the agency’s structure and new or eliminated PAS, PA, and
SES positions. With this information, the agency can improve the data quality generally and then
supplement the OPM data with agency-specific information in a way that respects the agency’s
current website practices.

53

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

VI.

DRAFT RECOMMENDATION

Considering the foregoing, the author proposes the following recommendations for the
Committee’s consideration:
Recommendations Applicable to Agencies Generally
1. Agencies should prominently display on their webpages updated information about each
current and acting PAS, PA, and SES official, including the term of each such
individual’s appointment (if applicable).208 Vacancies should also be prominently
displayed.
2. If an agency does not list information about each current and acting PAS, PA, and SES
official on its own webpage for all subcomponents, it should make this clear on its
website and link to subcomponent websites where the information can be located.209
Recommendations Applicable to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
3. OPM should publish comprehensive data about PAS, PA, and SES officials on a monthly
basis on a public website and ensure the information is easily accessible.
4. OPM should include the following fields, if applicable, for each listed PAS, PA, and SES
official: Agency; Name (first and last); Job Title; Start Date; End Date (if known or
reasonably foreseeable); and Type of Appointment.
5. OPM should create separate lists of current and former officials.

208

For the companion project, Acting Agency Officials and Delegations of Authority, Professor O’Connell
specifically addresses the accessibility of acting leadership information on agency websites and similarly offers
recommendations about disclosing acting agency officials on agency websites. O’Connell, Acting Agency Officials,
supra note 64, at 44–46, 64–73.
209

Subcomponent refers to bureaus and other subunits within a larger executive department or agency. See
SELIN & LEWIS, supra note 14, at 13–15, 125–32 (describing definitional difficulties and providing an extensive list
of agencies and subunits).

54

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Other Considerations for the Committee
This report and accompanying draft recommendation provide one approach to solving
this issue. The Committee may wish to address, or alternatively to avoid, certain issues the
author encountered during the research and drafting process.
Issue One: Scope
The project proposal and author focused on a scope that included all PAS, PA, and SES
officials. The Committee may wish to narrow the scope of officials, but the Committee may not
have the same flexibility to broaden the scope of official beyond PAS, PA, and SES officials (the
Council-approved scope). Departments may need to be treated differently given their size. Short
of redefining the scope, the final recommendation could simply provide ample agency discretion
over what to include while maintaining a broad overall scope to encourage experimentation and
encourage transparency to the broadest extent possible unless other countervailing concerns
prevent such broad transparency.
Issue Two: Timeliness
The Committee may wish to recommend, or avoid recommending, timetables or other
benchmarks for compliance. The author settled on monthly OPM publications of datasets based
on some OPM information provided about the agency HR data streams. The Committee could
increase or decrease these periods as it sees fit, but there will be some technical obstacles
preventing quicker, real-time updates by OPM. Agencies are a different issue and the Committee
may wish to consider whether to establish different goals or benchmarks for agencies to provide
updates to their website.
Issue Three: Data Preservation and Archival Data
This recommendation does not delve into precisely how OPM and agencies should
preserve historical data. The Committee may wish to consider whether OPM and agencies should
maintain a single spreadsheet or other dataset and whether past versions of the spreadsheets
should remain posted publicly. For example, would a single OPM list of all PAS, PA, and SES
positions throughout time be acceptable? Should there be separate files for active officials and
former officials?
OPM and agencies may need to be treated differently, as well as departments and how
their data correlates with the data of departmental subcomponents. These interrelated issues may
alter the complexity and burden on agencies and OPM, as well as the intricacy of the
recommendation language. The Committee could work to avoid these issues by deferring some
of these issues to agency discretion to avoid getting bogged down in these technical nuances.
Significantly, the creation, publication, and management of these federal records may
implicate guidance and regulations under the purview of the National Archives and Records
Administration.210 The Committee may wish to note this in the recommendation.
210

36 C.F.R. §§ 1220.1 et seq. (2019).

55

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Issue Four: Periodic Review and Coordination
The Committee may wish to provide more robust details about how OPM and agencies
should coordinate their efforts and periodically review their practices. This recommendation does
not provide detailed guidance about how (and how frequently) to review these efforts.
Issue Five: Agencies Outside the Scope of OPM Data
The report details a list of entities that do not submit data to OPM (for example: Central
Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Postal Regulatory Commission, U.S. Postal
Service, and White House Offices). These agencies are not included in OPM’s database for a
variety of reasons (for example, national security or a unique pay system), so they are not
connected to the OPM EHRI data feed and they are not included in OPM’s data sets. The
Committee may wish to address these outlier entities in some way.

56

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

VII.

APPENDIX A: AGENCY WEBSITE EVALUATION INSTRUMENT

This appendix contains the questions that the author used to review, evaluate, and
code the agency websites. Following the questions, the author provides a list of all
agency websites reviewed. The author has on file the spreadsheet used to code and
analyze the data, as well as detailed charts of the results.
1. Whether the agency website lists any PAS/PA/SES officials on a centralized
“About Us” (or similar) webpage?
a. If so, whether the webpage is accessible from the agency’s homepage in
one click?
b. If so, whether the webpage includes current occupants’ names?
c. If so, whether the webpage includes current occupants’ titles?
d. If so, whether the webpage includes any dates of appointment?
e. If so, whether the webpage includes information about terms of the
appointment?
f. If no current occupant, whether the webpage lists any position as vacant?
g. Whether the webpage identifies any acting officials?
2. Whether the agency website includes an organizational chart?
a. If so, whether the organizational chart includes both titles and names of
current occupants?
3. Whether the agency website includes archival information about any PAS/PA
officials?
4. Whether the agency website presents any odd functionality or barriers that
could interfere with an automated tool pulling data from the agency’s
website? [or any other miscellaneous notes]

57

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
List of Agency Websites Reviewed
Departments:
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of Justice
Department of Labor
Department of State
Department of the Interior
Department of the Treasury
Department of Transportation
Department of Veterans Affairs
Departmental Subcomponents:
Department of Agriculture: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Department of Commerce: U.S. Census Bureau
Department of Defense: Air Force
Department of Education: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Department of Energy: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Department of Health and Human Services: National Institutes of Health
Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Department of Housing and Urban Development: Government National Mortgage Association
Department of Justice: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Department of Labor: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Department of State: United States Agency for International Development
Department of the Interior: National Park Service
Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service
Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration
Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Benefits Administration
Other Independent Agencies: 211
Administrative Conference of the United States
Appalachian Regional Commission
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
U.S. Agency for Global Media (formerly Broadcasting Board of Governors)
Central Intelligence Agency
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Corporation for National and Community Service
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
Election Assistance Commission
As mentioned previously, “other independent agencies” and similar variations refers to those agencies
included in OPM’s data submitted for the Acting Agency Officials and Delegations of Authority project, see supra
note 64, and included in the ACUS Sourcebook of United States Executive Agencies. See also supra note 78.
211

58

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)
Environmental Protection Agency
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Export-Import Bank of the United States
Farm Credit Administration
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Maritime Commission
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Federal Trade Commission
General Services Administration
International Joint Commission: U.S. & Canada
Marine Mammal Commission
Merit Systems Protection Board
Millennium Challenge Corporation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Archives and Records Administration
National Council on Disability
National Credit Union Administration
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities: Institute of Museum and Library Services
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities: National Endowment for the Arts
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities: National Endowment for the Humanities
National Labor Relations Board
National Mediation Board
National Science Foundation
National Transportation Safety Board
Northern Border Regional Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
Office of Government Ethics
Office of Personnel Management
Office of Special Counsel
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Peace Corps
Postal Regulatory Commission
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
Railroad Retirement Board
Securities and Exchange Commission
Selective Service System
Small Business Administration
Social Security Administration
Trade and Development Agency
United States International Trade Commission
United States Postal Service

59

Public Identification of Agency Officials (Listing Agency Officials)

VIII.

APPENDIX B: GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS EXCERPTS

This appendix contains excerpts of the Plum Book, the Congressional Directory,
and the Government Manual, three of the most widely circulated government
publications in this space. For comparison, each excerpt contains the first five pages of
the section covering the Department of State.

60

Listing Agency Officials

61

Listing Agency Officials
106

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Location

Position Title

Name of Incumbent

Type
of
Appt.

Pay
Plan

Level,
Grade, or
Pay

Tenure

John Forbes Kerry .............
Jonathan Joseph Finer ......

PAS
NA

EX
ES

I
................

................
................

Thomas D Sullivan ............
Jennifer Stout .....................

NA
NA

ES
ES

................
................

................
................

David H. Thorne ................
Lee Wolosky ........................
Brett H McGurk .................

NA
NA
NA

ES
OT
OT

................
................
................

................
................
................

James Coad O’Brien ..........

PA

OT

................

................

SC
SC
NA
SC
SC

GS
GS
GS
GS
GS

15
15
15
14
13

................
................
................
................
................

SC
SC

GS
GS

13
12

................
................

SC
SC

GS
GS

12
11

................
................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Secretary of State ..............................................
Chief of Staff to the Secretary and Director of
the Policy Planning Staff.
Deputy Chief of Staff (Policy) ...........................
Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations/Management).
Senior Advisor ...................................................
Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure ..........
Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.
Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
Senior Advisor ...................................................
......do ..................................................................
Senior Adviser ...................................................
Special Assistant ...............................................
......do ..................................................................

Do ....................
Do ....................

......do ..................................................................
Staff Assistant ...................................................

Do ....................
Do ....................

......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................

Cindy Chang .......................
Julie Ann Wirkkala ...........
Elizabeth F Bagley .............
James X Loftus ...................
Nicholas Todd
Christiansen.
Matthew Richard Summers
Christopher Richard
Flanagan.
Jason David Meininger ......
Joshua Ari Rubin ...............

Do ....................
New York, NY ........

Office of the Counselor
Special Assistant ...............................................
Counselor ...........................................................

Alexandra Kahan ...............
Career Incumbent ..............

SC
CA

GS
ES

14
................

................
................

Washington, DC ....
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of Policy Planning
Deputy Director .................................................
Principal Deputy Director .................................
Senior Advisor ...................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
Foreign Affairs Officer ......................................
Special Assistant ...............................................
Special Assistant (Speechwriter) ......................
Writer-Editor (Speechwriter) ............................
......do ..................................................................
Staff Assistant ...................................................
......do ..................................................................

......do ...................................
Siddharth Mohandas .........
Lauren Elizabeth Baer ......
Tamara Klajn .....................
Max A. Bergmann ..............
Robert Ian Klaus ................
Arslan Malik .......................
Michael J. Camilleri ..........
Jonathan Meir Powell ........
Stephanie C. Epner ............
William Andrew Imbrie .....
Nila Roshan ........................
Shana Gabrielle Mansbach

CA
NA
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC

ES
ES
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS

................
................
15
15
15
15
15
14
14
14
13
12
7

................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................

Peter A. Selfridge ...............

PAS

EX

IV

................

Mark Edward Walsh ..........
Natalie Rita Jones .............
Jessica D Zielke ..................
Nicholas M Schmit .............

NA
SC
SC
SC

ES
GS
GS
GS

................
15
15
15

................
................
................
................

SC
SC
SC
SC

GS
GS
GS
GS

15
15
14
13

................
................
................
................

SC
SC
SC
SC

GS
GS
GS
GS

13
13
12
12

................
................
................
................

SC
SC
SC
SC

GS
GS
GS
GS

11
11
11
9

................
................
................
................

Washington, DC ....
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of the Chief of Protocol
Chief of Protocol with the rank of Ambassador.
Deputy Chief of Protocol ...................................
......do ..................................................................
Assistant Chief of Protocol (Ceremonials) .......
Assistant Chief of Protocol (Diplomatic Partnerships).
Assistant Chief of Protocol (Visits) ..................
Senior Protocol Officer ......................................
Special Advisor ..................................................
Protocol Officer ..................................................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

......do ..................................................................
Protocol Officer (Visits) .....................................
Protocol Officer (Ceremonials) ..........................
Protocol Officer (Visits) .....................................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

......do ..................................................................
Protocol Officer ..................................................
Public Affairs Specialist ....................................
Protocol Officer (Visits) .....................................

Samantha J. Tubman ........
Katherine L Garland .........
Lindsey Katherine Jack .....
Katherine Forest Michaels
Harger.
Lauren Bernstein ...............
Araz Pourmorad .................
Amy Sarah Rosenfield .......
Claudia McNamara
Lawder.
Caitlin Gaughan McGarry
Katrina Dai-Kwong Chan ..
Jessica Joan Andrews ........
Gary Stephen Lee ..............

Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of Civil Rights
Director ..............................................................
Deputy Director .................................................

Career Incumbent ..............
......do ...................................

CA
CA

ES
ES

................
................

................
................

Samantha J. Power ............

PAS

EX

II

................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

New York, NY ........

U.S. Mission to the United Nations
Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank
and status of Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary, and the Representative of the United States of America in the
Security Council of the United Nations.

Listing Agency Officials
62

Expires

Listing Agency Officials
107

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENT OF STATE—Continued
Location

Position Title

Name of Incumbent

Type
of
Appt.

Pay
Plan

Level,
Grade, or
Pay

Tenure

New York, NY ........

Michele J. Sison .................

PAS

OT

................

................

Isobel D. Coleman ..............

PAS

AD

................

................

Sarah E. Mendelson ...........

PAS

AD

................

................

David J. Pressman .............

PAS

AD

................

................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Deputy Representative of United States of
America to the United Nations, with the
rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and the Deputy
Representative of the U.S. in the Security
Council of the United Nations.
Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador.
Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador.
Alternate Representative of the United States
of America for Special Political Affairs in
the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador.
Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations ....................
Director of Scheduling and Advance ................
Senior Policy Advisor ........................................
Director of Communications .............................
Senior Policy Advisor ........................................

XS
XS
XS
XS
XS

AD
AD
AD
AD
AD

................
................
................
................
................

................
................
................
................
................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Washington, DC ....
Do ....................
New York, NY ........
Do ....................
Do ....................

Policy Advisor ....................................................
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy .......................
Director of Digital Media ..................................
Chief of Staff ......................................................
Special Assistant ...............................................
Senior Policy Advisor (D.C.) .............................
Senior Policy Advisor (Middle East) (D.C.) .....
Speechwriter ......................................................
Chief of Staff ......................................................
Policy Advisor ....................................................

Stina Skewes-Cox Trainor
Mary-Katherine Barry .......
Lauren Baer .......................
Aoife Eileen McCarthy .......
Nicholas Fajans Zimmerman.
Julia Spiegel .......................
Gideon D. Maltz .................
Caroline Weisser ................
Sergio Lanier Aguirre ........
Rebecca Kate Wexler .........
Halie Soifer .........................
Wa’el Nabil Alzayat ...........
Nikolaus Strock Steinberg
Salman Shaikh Ahmed ......
Eric Pelofsky .......................

XS
XS
XS
XS
XS
XS
XS
XS
XS
XS

AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD

................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................

................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................

Washington, DC ....
Do ....................

Office of the Deputy Secretary
Deputy Secretary of State ................................
Special Assistant ...............................................

Antony J. Blinken ..............
William Michael Russo ......

PAS
SC

EX
GS

II
13

................
................

Do ....................

Do ....................

Do ....................

Heather A. Higginbottom ..

PAS

EX

II

................

Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of the Deputy Secretary for
Management and Resources
Deputy Secretary of State for Management
and Resources.
Senior Advisor ...................................................
......do ..................................................................

Daniella Ballou-Aares ........
Tyrik B. McKeiver ..............

NA
SC

ES
GS

................
15

................
................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources
Director ..............................................................
Deputy Director .................................................
Managing Director ............................................
......do ..................................................................

Career Incumbent ..............
Vacant .................................
Career Incumbent ..............
Vacant .................................

CA
............
CA
............

ES
ES
ES
ES

................
................
................
................

................
................
................
................

Deborah Leah Birx .............

PAS

EX

IV

................

Vacant .................................
......do ...................................

............
............

ES
ES

................
................

................
................

......do ...................................
Edna Z. Ruano ....................

............
SC

ES
GS

................
15

................
................

Caya B. Lewis ....................
Emily Gibbons ....................
Thomas Anthony Lasalvia
Maheisha L Adams ............

NA
SC
SC
SC

ES
GS
GS
GS

................
15
15
12

................
................
................
................

Catherine M. Russell .........

PAS

EX

IV

................

Grace Ann Choi ..................
Ashley Nicole Williams ......
Allison Grace Wylie ...........
Rachel Lillian Wallace .......

SC
SC
SC
SC

GS
GS
GS
GS

13
12
12
12

................
................
................
................

Vacant .................................

............

ES

................

................

Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of the U.S. Global Aids Coordinator
Ambassador at Large and Coordinator of
United States Government Activities to
Combat HIV/AIDS Globally.
Principal Deputy Coordinator ..........................
Deputy Coordinator, Financial Sustainability
and Development.
Deputy Coordinator, Budget and Operations
Director of Public Affairs and Communications.
Senior Advisor ...................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
Foreign Affairs Officer ......................................
Office of Global Women’s Issues
Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s
Issues.
Special Assistant ...............................................
Staff Assistant ...................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
Office of Global Partnerships
Special Representative for Global Partnerships.

Listing Agency Officials
63

Expires

Listing Agency Officials
108

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENT OF STATE—Continued
Location

Position Title

Name of Incumbent

Type
of
Appt.

Pay
Plan

Level,
Grade, or
Pay

Tenure

Washington, DC ....
Do ....................

Senior Advisor ...................................................
Program Analyst ...............................................

Laura Winthrop Abbot .......
Alice Elizabeth Cosgrove ...

SC
SC

GS
GS

15
11

................
................

Shaarik H. Zafar ................

SC

GS

15

................

Priscilla Valeria Flores ......
Shaun Casey .......................

SC
NA

GS
OT

11
................

................
................

Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of the Special Envoy for Climate
Change
Special Envoy for Climate Change ..................
Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change .....

Jonathan C Pershing .........
Karen Lee Florini ...............

NA
SC

OT
GS

................
15

................
................

Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of Global Food Security
Special Envoy ....................................................
Staff Assistant ...................................................

Nancy H Stetson ................
Julia Lee Duncan ...............

NA
SC

OT
GS

................
12

................
................

Do ....................

Office of Global Criminal Justice
Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues

Vacant .................................

PAS

EX

IV

................

Do ....................

Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Deputy Special Envoy .......................................

Frank G Lowenstein ..........

NA

ES

................

................

Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of the Lead Coordinator for Iran
Nuclear Implementation
Deputy Lead Coordinator .................................
Staff Assistant ...................................................

Jarrett Nathaniel Blanc ....
Mark C. Appleton ...............

NA
SC

ES
GS

................
12

................
................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of Religion and Global Affairs
Special Representative to Muslim Communities.
Staff Assistant ...................................................
Special Representative for Religion and Global Affairs.

Julia Frifield .......................

PAS

EX

IV

................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Bureau of Legislative Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State (Legislative Affairs).
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary .............
Deputy Assistant Secretary ..............................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
Legislative Management Officer ......................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................

Ann M. Norris ....................
Laura Isabel Rodriguez .....
Rori A. Kramer ...................
Anthony D. Wier ................
Nuku K. Ofori .....................
Ariana Elizabeth Reks .......
Hera A. Abbasi ...................
Helen R Brocato .................

SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC

GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS

15
15
15
15
14
14
13
12

................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of the Legal Adviser
Legal Adviser of the Department of State ......
Principal Deputy Legal Adviser .......................
Deputy Legal Adviser .......................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
Deputy Assistant Legal Adviser .......................
Executive Director .............................................
Assistant Legal Adviser ....................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................

Brian J. Egan .....................
Career Incumbent ..............
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
Vacant .................................
Career Incumbent ..............
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
Vacant .................................
Career Incumbent ..............
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
Ona Hahs ............................

PAS
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
............
CA
CA
CA
CA
............
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
TA

EX
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES

IV
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................

................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................

Daniel Bennett Smith ........

PAS

EX

IV

................

Career Incumbent ..............

CA

ES

................

................

Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................

Bureau of Intelligence and Research
Assistant Secretary of State (Intelligence and
Research).
Deputy Assistant Secretary ..............................

Listing Agency Officials
64

Expires

01/20/17

Listing Agency Officials
109

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENT OF STATE—Continued
Location

Position Title

Name of Incumbent

Type
of
Appt.

Pay
Plan

Level,
Grade, or
Pay

Tenure

Washington, DC ....
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Deputy Assistant Secretary ..............................
Executive Director .............................................
Office Director ...................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
Geographer .........................................................

Career Incumbent ..............
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
Vacant .................................
......do ...................................
Career Incumbent ..............

CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
............
............
CA

ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES

................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................

................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................

Richard A. Stengel .............

PAS

EX

III

................

Michael Lumpkin ...............

NA

OT

................

................

Meagen M. Lagraffe ...........
Joshua Solomon Lipsky .....
Mary Elizabeth Nagel ........
William J. Hybl ..................

SC
SC
SC
PAS

GS
GS
GS
OT

15
12
7
................

................
................
................
................

Sim Farar ...........................
Lyndon B. Olson Jr. ...........
Penne K. Peacock ...............
Lezlee Westine ...................
Anne T. Wedner .................
Vacant .................................

PAS
PAS
PAS
PAS
PAS
PAS

OT
OT
OT
OT
OT
OT

................
................
................
................
................
................

................
................
................
................
................
................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Office of the Under Secretary for Public
Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy.
Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global
Engagement Center.
Senior Advisor ...................................................
Writer-Editor (Speechwriter) ............................
Staff Assistant ...................................................
Member, U.S. Advisory Commission On Public Diplomacy.
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................

Evan M Ryan ......................

PAS

EX

IV

................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State (Educational and
Cultural Affairs).
Deputy Assistant Secretary ..............................
......do ..................................................................
Executive Director .............................................
Senior Advisor ...................................................
......do ..................................................................
Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist ..............
Special Assistant ...............................................

Robin J. Lerner ..................
Mala Adiga .........................
Vacant .................................
Career Incumbent ..............
Nicole L Elkon ....................
Melanie N Roe ....................
Kathryn P Balcerzak .........

NA
SC
............
CA
SC
SC
SC

ES
GS
ES
ES
GS
GS
GS

................
15
................
................
15
15
14

................
................
................
................
................
................
................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Bureau of International Information
Programs
Coordinator ........................................................
Deputy Coordinator ...........................................
Senior Advisor ...................................................
Information Technology Specialist ...................

Robert M Phillips III .........
Thomas E Cochran .............
Stephanie C Sutton ............
Rusty D Pickens .................

NA
NA
SC
SC

ES
ES
GS
GS

................
................
15
15

................
................
................
................

John F Kirby ......................

PA

EX

IV

................

Career Incumbent ..............
Glen D Johnson ..................
Karen E Richardson ...........
Moira Whelan .....................
Marie Harf ..........................
Benjamin L Edwards .........
Lauren A Hickey ................
Rebecca Rosen ....................
Stephanie A Beechem ........

CA
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC
SC

ES
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS
GS

................
15
15
15
15
15
13
12
12

................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................

Sarah B. Sewall ..................

PAS

EX

III

................

Elizabeth Anne Field .........
Vivek Ram Chilukuri .........

NA
SC

ES
GS

................
11

................
................

David M. Robinson .............

PAS

EX

IV

................

Sharon Leigh Morris ..........
Kimberly Cochrane Field ...
Jason Lewis-Berry .............

NA
NA
SC

ES
ES
GS

................
................
15

................
................
................

Vacant .................................

PAS

EX

IV

................

Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Bureau of Public Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State (Public Affairs)
and Spokesperson.
Director, Office of the Historian .......................
Deputy Assistant Secretary ..............................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
Deputy Spokesperson ........................................
Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist ..............
Public Affairs Specialist ....................................
Staff Assistant ...................................................
......do ..................................................................
Office of the Under Secretary for Civilian
Security, Democracy, and Human Rights
Under Secretary of State (Civilian Security,
Democracy, and Human Rights).
Senior Advisor ...................................................
Staff Assistant ...................................................
Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization
Operations
Assistant Secretary of State (Conflict and
Stabilization Operations) and Coordinator
for Reconstruction and Stabilization.
Deputy Assistant Secretary ..............................
......do ..................................................................
Director of Overseas Operations ......................
Bureau of Counterterrorism
Coordinator for Counterterrorism with the
rank and status of Ambassador at Large.

Listing Agency Officials
65

Expires

Listing Agency Officials
110

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENT OF STATE—Continued
Location

Position Title

Name of Incumbent

Type
of
Appt.

Pay
Plan

Level,
Grade, or
Pay

Tenure

Washington, DC ....
Do ....................
Do ....................

Deputy Coordinator ...........................................
......do ..................................................................
Office Director ...................................................

Career Incumbent ..............
Michael Rian Ortiz .............
Career Incumbent ..............

CA
SC
CA

ES
GS
ES

................
15
................

................
................
................

Tomasz P. Malinowski .......

PAS

EX

IV

................

David N Saperstein ............

PAS

EX

IV

................

Vacant .................................

PAS

EX

................

................

Steven J Feldstein .............
Robert Gardner
Berschinski.
Dafna Varda Hochman
Rand.
Vacant .................................
Sarah M Fox .......................

SC
SC

GS
GS

15
15

................
................

SC

GS

15

................

............
NA

ES
ES

................
................

................
................

Career Incumbent ..............
......do ...................................
Camille Giuliana Eiss ........
Judith E Heumann ............

CA
CA
SC
NA

ES
ES
GS
ES

................
................
15
................

................
................
................
................

Mohammad Arslan
Suleman.
Katherine Guernsey ...........

SC

GS

15

................

SC

GS

14

................

Do ....................
Do ....................

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor
Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor.
Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom.
Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom
of Religious Minorities in the Near East
and South Central Asia with the rank of
Ambassador.
Deputy Assistant Secretary ..............................
......do ..................................................................

Do ....................

......do ..................................................................

Do ....................
Do ....................

Do ....................

Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism ........
Special Representative for International
Labor Affairs.
Senior Advisor ...................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
Special Advisor International Disability
Rights.
Foreign Affairs Officer ......................................

Do ....................

Special Assistant ...............................................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Patrick Air Force
Base, FL.
Washington, DC ....
Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................
Do ....................

Do ....................
Do ....................
Kabul, Afghanistan
Tirane, Albania ......
Algiers, Algeria ......
Madrid, Spain ........
Luanda, Angola .....
Bridgetown, Barbados.
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Yerevan, Armenia

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State (International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs).
Deputy Assistant Secretary ..............................
Controller/Executive Director ...........................
Office Director ...................................................

William R. Brownfield .......

PAS

EX

IV

................

Career Incumbent ..............
......do ...................................
......do ...................................

CA
CA
CA

ES
ES
ES

................
................
................

................
................
................

......do ..................................................................
Senior Advisor ...................................................

......do ...................................
Alexandra N. Costello ........

CA
SC

ES
GS

................
15

................
................

Susan Coppedge Amato .....

PAS

EX

IV

................

Career Incumbent ..............
Thomas Macaulay Babington.

CA
SC

ES
GS

................
11

................
................

Anne C. Richard .................

PAS

EX

IV

................

Career Incumbent ..............
Catherine A. Wiesner ........
Career Incumbent ..............
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................
......do ...................................

CA
SC
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA

ES
GS
ES
ES
ES
ES
ES

................
15
................
................
................
................
................

................
................
................
................
................
................
................

Thomas A. Shannon Jr. .....
William Woodward .............
Peter Michael McKinley ....
Donald Lu ...........................
Joan A Polaschik ................

PAS
NA
PAS
PAS
PAS

EX
ES
FA
FA
FA

III
................
................
................
................

................
................
................
................
................

James Costos ......................
Helen Meagher La Lime ....
Linda Swartz Taglialatela

PAS
PAS
PAS

FA
FA
FA

................
................
................

................
................
................

Ambassador, Argentine Republic .....................

Noah B Mamet ...................

PAS

FA

................

................

Ambassador, Republic of Armenia ...................

Richard M Mills Jr. ............

PAS

FA

................

................

Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in
Persons
Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking with the rank of Ambassador at
Large.
Principal Deputy Director .................................
Staff Assistant ...................................................
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and
Migration
Assistant Secretary of State (Population, Refugees, and Migration).
Deputy Assistant Secretary ..............................
......do ..................................................................
Comptroller ........................................................
Office Director ...................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
......do ..................................................................
Office of the Under Secretary for Political
Affairs
Under Secretary of State (Political Affairs) ....
Senior Advisor ...................................................
Ambassador, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Ambassador, Republic of Albania ....................
Ambassador, People’s Democratic Republic of
Algeria.
Ambassador, Principality of Andorra ..............
Ambassador, Republic of Angola ......................
Ambassador, Antigua and Barbuda .................

Listing Agency Officials
66

Expires

Listing Agency Officials

Listing Agency Officials
67

Listing Agency Officials

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
2201 C Street, NW., 20520, phone (202) 647–4000
MIKE POMPEO, Secretary of State; born in Orange, CA, December 30, 1963; education:
B.S., mechanical engineering, United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, 1986,
graduated first in his class; J.D., Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, 1994; editor of
Harvard Law Review; professional: owner/founder, Thayer Aerospace; president, Sentry International; religion: Presbyterian; married: Susan Pompeo of Wichita, KS; children: Nick; elected
to the 112th Congress, from the 4th District of Kansas, on November 2, 2010, and reelected
to the three succeeding Congresses; Director, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), January,
2017 to April, 2018; nominated by President Donald Trump to become the 70th Secretary
of State on March 13, 2018, and was sworn in on April 26, 2018.
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Secretary of State.—Mike Pompeo, Room 7226 (202) 647–9572.
Deputy Secretary.—John Sullivan, Room 7220, 647–8636.
DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCES
Deputy Secretary.—John Sullivan, Room 7220, 647–8636.
AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Ambassador-at-Large.—Vacant, Room 7419A, 647–6051.
Deputy.—Bertram Braun, 647–8172.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF PROTOCOL
Chief of Protocol.—Sean P. Lawler, Room 1238, 647–4543.
Deputy Chief of Protocol.—Katherine C. Henderson, 647–1144.
OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS
Director.—Gregory B. Smith, Room 7428, 647–9294.
Deputy Director.—Audrey Huon-Dumentat.
BUREAU OF COUNTERTERRORISM
Coordinator.—Nathan Sales, Room 2509, 647–9892.
Principal Deputy Coordinator.—Alina Romanowski, 647–9892.
BUREAU OF CONFLICT AND STABILIZATION OPERATIONS
Assistant Secretary.—Thomas Hushek (acting), Room 7100 SA–3 (202) 663–0807.
EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
Special Assistant and Executive Secretary.—Lisa Kenna, Room 7224, 647–8448.
Deputy Executive Secretaries: Elizabeth Fitzsimmons, 647–5528; Derek Hogan, 647–5287;
Eva Weigold Schultz, 647–8449.
601

Listing Agency Officials
68

Listing Agency Officials

602

Congressional Directory
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
2121 Virginia Avenue, NW., 20037

Inspector General.—Steve Linick, Room 8100, 663–0361.
Deputy Inspector General.—Emilia DiSanto, 663–0365.
BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH
Assistant Secretary.—Daniel B. Smith, Room 6468, 647–9177.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Kathleen Fitzpatrick, 647–7826.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Catherine Brown, 647–7754; Victor Raphael, 647–9633.
OFFICE OF THE LEGAL ADVISER
Legal Adviser.—Jennifer Gillian Newstead, Room 6421, 647–5036.
Principal Deputy Legal Adviser.—Vacant, 647–5036.
Deputy Legal Advisers: Joshua Dorosin, 647–7942; Kathleen Hooke, 647–2187; Katherine
McManus, 647–7976.
BUREAU OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Mary K. Waters, Room 7531, 647–4204.
Deputy Assistant Secretary (Global, Regional, and Functional).—Charles Faulkner, 647–
1656.
Deputy Assistant Secretary (Senate).—Vacant, 647–8733.
Deputy Assistant Secretary (House).—Vacant, 647–1656.
POLICY PLANNING STAFF
Director.—Brian Hook, Room 7311, 647–2972.
Principal Deputy Director.—Vacant.
OFFICE OF THE U.S. GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR
Coordinator.—Dr. Deborah Birx, Room SA–22, 663–2579.
Principal Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.—Mark Brown, 663–2464.
UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS
Under Secretary.—Thomas Shannon, Room 7250, 647–2471.
Executive Assistant.—Samantha Carl-Yoder, 647–1598.
AFRICAN AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Vacant, Room 6234A, 647–2530.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Vacant, 647–4485.
EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Susan Thornton (acting), 647–9596.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Vacant, 647–6600.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Walter Douglas, 647–7341; Matt Matthews, 647–6904; Patrick
Murphy, 647–6910; Laura Stone (acting), 647–8929; Joseph Yun, 736–4393.
EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—A. Wess Mitchell, Room 6226, 647–9626.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—John Heffern, 647–6233.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Bridget Brink, 647–5447; Jonathan Cohen, 647–5174; Kathleen
Kavalec, 647–5146; Conrad Tribble, 647–9373; Hoyt Yee, 647–6415; Benjamin Ziff,
647–6402.

Listing Agency Officials
69

Listing Agency Officials

Department of State

603

NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Vacant, Room 6242, 647–7209.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Vacant, 647–7207.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Richard Albright, 647–4042; Yael Lempert, 647–7170; Timothy
Lenderking, 647–0554; Michael Ratney, 647–7168; Larry Schwartz, 647–9547.
SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Alice Wells (acting), Room 6254, 736–4325.
Executive Director.—Howard VanVranken, 647–9505.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Nini Forino (acting), 736–4325; David Ranz (acting), 736–
4325; Daniel Rosenblum (acting), 736–4325; Thomas Vajda (acting), 736–4325.
WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Vacant, Room 6262, 647–5780.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Francisco Palmieri, 647–5750.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: John Creamer, 647–6755; Michael Fitzpatrick, 647–8563; Kenneth Merten, 647–3903; Mara Tekach, 647–9921.
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Kirsten Dawn Madison, Room 7826, 647–8464.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Vacant, 647–6642.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Brooke Darby (acting); Richard Glenn (acting); Heather Merritt
(acting); James A. Walsh, 647–9822.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Kevin Edward Moley, Room 6323, 647–9600.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Molly Phee, 647–9602.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Eric M. Barclay, 647–9431; Nerissa J. Cook, 647–5798; Eric
Gaudiosi (acting), 647–9604.
UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, ENERGY,
AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Under Secretary.—Vacant, Room 7256, 647–7575.
Executive Assistant.—Michael Dodman, 647–7674.
ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Manisha Singh, Room 4932 / 4934, 647–9496.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Brian McFeeters, 647–9496.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Robert L. Strayer, 647–5968; Roland de Marcelus (acting);
David Meale (acting); Peter Haas (acting); Hugo Yon (acting).
UNDER SECRETARY FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Under Secretary.—Andrea L. Thompson, Room 7208, 647–1049.
Chief of Staff.—Maureen Tucker, 647–0302.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION
Assistant Secretary.—Dr. Christopher A. Ford, Room 3932, 647–5999.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Eliott Kang, Room 3932, 647–5999.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Non-Nuclear Encounter for Proliferation.—Ann Ganzer (acting), Room 3932, 647–5122.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nonproliferation Programs.—Phillip Dolliff (acting), 647–
5999.

Listing Agency Officials
70

Listing Agency Officials

604

Congressional Directory
POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS

Assistant Secretary.—Tina Kaidanow, Room 6212, 647–9022.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Vacant, 647–9023.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Brian Nilsson (acting), 663–3704; Kevin O’Keefe, 663–3450;
Vacant, 647–9023.
ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION AND COMPLIANCE
Assistant Secretary.—Yleem D.S. Poblete, Room 5950, 647–5315.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Anita Friedt, 647–6830.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Bruce Turner, 647–9399; Vacant, 647–5315.
UNDER SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Under Secretary.—Heather Nauert (acting), Room 5932, 647–9199.
Executive Assistant / Chief of Staff.—J. Jeff Daigle, 647–7017.
EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS
´ `
Assistant Secretary.—Marie Therese Royce, 632–9940.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Jennifer Zimdahl Galt, 632–9444.
Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Alyson L. Grunder.
Assistant Secretaries / Managing Directors: Mariane Craven, 632–9331; Chris Miner, 632–
6446; Kevin Saba, 632–6193.
INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS
Coordinator.—Jonathan Henick (acting), 632–9931.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Michelle S. Giuda, Room 6634, 647–6608.
Assistant Secretary / Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Susan Stevenson (acting), 647–
6088.
Spokesperson.—Heather Nauert, 647–6608.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Vacant.
UNDER SECRETARY FOR MANAGEMENT
Under Secretary.—Vacant, Room 7207, 647–1500.
Executive Assistant.—Gregory Stanford, 647–1501.
ADMINISTRATION
Assistant Secretary.—Harry Mahar (acting), Room 6529, 647–1492.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Harry Mahar, 647–2082; Jennifer McIntyre (703) 875–6956;
Vacant (202) 261–8300.
CONSULAR AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Carl Risch, Room 6826, 647–9576.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Karen Christensen (acting), 647–7736.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Karen Christensen, 647–9003; Edward Ramotowski, 647–6947;
Brenda Sprague, 647–7149.
DIPLOMATIC SECURITY
Assistant Secretary.—Michael T. Evanoff, Room 6316, 647–6290.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Vacant (571) 345–3815.

Listing Agency Officials
71

Listing Agency Officials

Department of State

605

Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Wayne Ashbery (571) 345–3836; Scott Moretti (571) 226–
9760; Tim Riley (571) 345–3492; Christian Schurman (571) 345–3815; Vacant (571)
345–3785; Vacant (571) 345–3809.
DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE AND
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Director General.—William Todd (acting), Room 6218, 647–5942.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—William Todd, 647–5942.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Constance Dierman, 647–9442; Philippe Lussier, 647–5152;
Bruce Williamson, 647–5188.
FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE
Director.—Marc Oestfield (acting), Room F2101 (703) 302–6703.
Deputy Director.—Amb. Wanda Nesbitt (acting), 302–6707.
INFORMATION RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Chief Information Officer.—Frontis Wiggins, 647–2889.
Deputy CIO for Operations.—Glen Johnson, 634–3683.
Deputy CIO for Business Management and Planning.—Karen Mummaw, 634–3083.
Chief Information Security Officer of Information Assurance.—Alford Bowden, 634–3690.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Medical Director.—Dr. Charles Rosenfarb, 663–1649.
Principal Deputy Medical Director.—Mark Cohen, 663–1641.
OVERSEAS BUILDINGS OPERATIONS
Director.—William Moser (acting), (703) 875–6361.
Principal Deputy Directors: Marjorie Phillips (acting), (571) 345–0215; Nicole Varnes (703)
875–5036.
UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY,
AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Under Secretary.—Vacant, Room 7261, 647–1189.
Executive Assistant.—Vacant, 647–7818.
DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR
Assistant Secretary.—Virginia Bennett (acting), Room 7827, 647–3273.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Virginia Bennett, 647–3273.
OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS
Assistant Secretary.—Amb. Judith Garber (acting), Room 3880, 647–6950.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Vacant, 647–1554.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: David A. Balton, 647–2396; Jonathan Margolis, 647–3584;
Daniel Reifsnyder, 647–2232.
POPULATION, REFUGEES, AND MIGRATION
Assistant Secretary.—Simon Henshaw (acting), Room 6825, 647–7360.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.—Simon Henshaw, 647–5982.
Deputy Assistant Secretaries: Nancy I. Jackson, 647–7360; Mark Storella, 647–5822.

Listing Agency Officials
72

Listing Agency Officials

The United States
Government Manual

Office of the Federal Register
National Archives and Records Administration

Listing Agency Officials
73

Listing Agency Officials

Getting Started
To begin searching within the
Government Manual simply type in a
keyword or phrase to find your match.

Department of State

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20520
202-647-4000
http://www.state.gov
SECRETARY OF STATE

Michael R. Pompeo

Deputy Secretary of State

John Sullivan

Deputy Secretary of State for Management and
Resources

(vacancy)

Counselor of the Department

T. Ulrich Brechbuhl

Director, Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance

Hari Sastry

Executive Secretary

Lisa D. Kenna

Under Secretary for Arms Control and
International Security Affairs
Assistant Secretary for International Security
and Nonproliferation
Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Arms Control,
Verification and Compliance

Under Secretary for Civilian Security,
Democracy, and Human Rights
Ambassador-at-Large for the Office to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Assistant Secretary for Conflict and
Stabilization Operation
Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor
Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees,
and Migration
Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Special Coordinator for the Office of Global
Criminal Justice

Andrea Thompson
Christopher Ford
Vacancy
Yleem D.S. Poblete

(vacancy)
Kari Johnstone, Acting
Denise Natali
Virginia Bennett, Acting
Kirsten D. Madison
Carol O'Connell, Acting
Nathan A. Sales
Bertram Braum

Listing Agency Officials
74
https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/Agency.aspx?EntityId=/jQN/FRk+WE=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&EType=jY3M4CTKVHY=[11/14/2018 12:48:38 PM]

Listing Agency Officials
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy,
and the Environment
Assistant Secretary for Economic and
Business Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources

(vacancy)
Manisha Singh
Francis R. Fannon

Assistant Secretary for Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific

Vacancy

Affairs
Office of the Chief Economist

Keith Maskus

Under Secretary for Management

(vacancy)

Assistant Secretary for Administration

Nicole Nason

Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs

Carl C. Risch

Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security

Michael Evanoff

Assistant Secretary for Information Resource
Management / Chief Information Officer
Comptroller, Bureau of the Comptroller and
Global Financial Services

Vacant
Christopher H. Flaggs

Director, Budget and Planning

Douglas Pitkin

Director, Foreign Service Institute

Mark Ostfield, Acting

Director, Human Resources / Director General
of the Foreign Service
Director, Office of Management Policy,
Rightsizing and Innovation

William Todd, Acting
Paul Wedderien

Director, Office of Medical Services

Charles Rosenfarb

Director, Overseas Buildings Operations

Addison D. Davis IV

Under Secretary for Political Affairs

David M. Hale Hale

Assistant Secretary for African Affairs

Tibor P. Nagy, Jr.

Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs
Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian
Affairs
Assistant Secretary for International
Organization Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs
Assistant Secretary for South and Central
Asian Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere
Affairs

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and
Public Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Educational and
Cultural Affairs
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
Coordinator of International Information

Patrick Murphy, Acting
A. Wess Mitchell
Kevin E. Maley
David Satterfield, Acting
Vacancy
Kimberly Breier

Heather Nauert, Acting
Marie T. Royce
Michelle S. Giuda
Vacancy

Listing Agency Officials
75
https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/Agency.aspx?EntityId=/jQN/FRk+WE=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&EType=jY3M4CTKVHY=[11/14/2018 12:48:38 PM]

Listing Agency Officials

Programs

Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and
Research
Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs
Ambassador-at-Large of the Office of Global
Women's Issues

Daniel Smith
Mary Elizabeth Taylor
Vacancy

Chief of Protocol

Sean P. Lawler

Coordinator, Office of U.S. Global AIDS

Deborah Brix

Director, Office of Civil Rights

Gregory B. Smith

Director, Office of Policy Planning

Kiron Skinner

Inspector General

Steve A. Unick

Legal Adviser

Jennifer Newstead

"Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for the
Global Coalition to Counter ISIS (S/SECI)"
Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs
Special Representative for North Korea
(S/DPRK)
Special Representative for Syria Engagement
(S/SRS)
Special Representative for Iran (S/IAG)
Special Representative for Afghanistan
Reconciliation (S/SRA)

Brett McGurk
Robert C. O'Brien
Stephen E. Biegun
James Jeffrey
Zalmay M. Khalilzad
Zalmay M. Khalilzad

UNITED STATES MISSION TO THE UNITED
NATIONS
799 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY
10017

"United States Permanent Representative to
the United Nations and Representative in the

Nikki Haley

Securitv Council"
U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the
United Nations
"United States Alternate Representative for
Special Political Affairs in the United Nations"
United States Representative to the Economic
and Social Council
United States Representative for United
Nations Management and Reform

Inspector General

Jonathan R. Cohen
Amy Tachco, Acting
Kelley E. Currie
Cherith Norman-Chalet

Steve A. Linick

https://oig.state.gov/about/IG

UNITED STATES MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
799 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017

Listing Agency Officials
76
https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/Agency.aspx?EntityId=/jQN/FRk+WE=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&EType=jY3M4CTKVHY=[11/14/2018 12:48:38 PM]

Listing Agency Officials

United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations and Representative in the

Nikki Haley

Security Council
Deputy United States Representative to the
United Nations
United States Alternate Representative for
Special Political Affairs in the United Nations
United States Representative to the Economic
and Social Council
United States Representative for United
Nations Management and Reform

Michele Sisson
Amy Tachco, Acting
Kelley E. Currie
Isobel Coleman

https://usun.state.gov/leadership
The above lists of key personnel were updated 11–2018.

[For the Department of State statement of organization, see the U.S. Code of Federal
Regulations, Title 22, Part 5.]

The Department of State advises the President on issues of foreign policy; supports
democracy, freedom, and prosperity for all people; and fosters conditions that favor
stability and progress worldwide.
The Department of State was established by act of July 27, 1789, as the Department
of Foreign Affairs and was renamed Department of State by act of September 15,
1789 (22 U.S.C. 2651 note).
Secretary of State
The Secretary of State is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and
supervision of U.S. foreign relations and for the interdepartmental activities of the
U.S. Government abroad. The Secretary is the first-ranking member of the Cabinet, is
a member of the National Security Council, and is in charge of the operations of the
Department, including the Foreign Service.
http://www.state.gov/secretary
Regional Bureaus
Foreign affairs activities worldwide are handled by the geographic bureaus, which
include the Bureaus of African Affairs, European and Eurasian Affairs, East Asian and
Pacific Affairs, Near Eastern Affairs, South and Central Asian Affairs, and Western
Hemisphere Affairs.
http://www.state.gov/p
Administration
The Bureau of Administration provides support programs and services to Department
of State operations worldwide, as well as programs and services to other U.S.
Government agencies represented at U.S. Embassies and consulates. These
functions include administrative policy; domestic emergency management;
management of owned or leased facilities in the United States; procurement, supply,
travel, and transportation support; classified pouch, unclassified pouch, and domestic
mail distribution; official records, publishing, library, and foreign language interpreting
and translating services; and support to the schools abroad that educate dependents
of U.S. Government employees assigned to diplomatic and consular missions. Direct
services to the public include authenticating documents used abroad for legal and

Listing Agency Officials
77
https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/Agency.aspx?EntityId=/jQN/FRk+WE=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&EType=jY3M4CTKVHY=[11/14/2018 12:48:38 PM]

Listing Agency Officials

business purposes; responding to requests under the Freedom of Information and
Privacy Acts; providing the electronic reading room for public reference to State
Department records; and determining use of the diplomatic reception rooms of the
Harry S. Truman headquarters building in Washington, DC.
http://www.state.gov/m/a
For further information, contact the Bureau of Administration. Phone, 202-485-7000.

Arms Control, Verification and Compliance
The Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance is responsible for ensuring
and verifying compliance with international arms control, nonproliferation, and
disarmament agreements and commitments. The Bureau also leads negotiation and
implementation efforts with respect to strategic arms control, most recently the new
START Treaty and conventional forces in Europe. The Bureau is the principal policy
representative to the intelligence community with regard to verification and
compliance matters and uses this role to promote, preserve, and enhance key
collection and analytic capabilities and to ensure that intelligence verification,
compliance, and implementation requirements are met. The Bureau staffs and
manages treaty implementation commissions, creates negotiation and
implementation policy for agreements and commitments, and develops policy for
future arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament arrangements. It also provides
secure government-to-government communication linkages with foreign treaty
partners. The Bureau is also responsible for preparing verifiability assessments on
proposals and agreements, and reporting these to Congress as required. The Bureau
also prepares the "President's Annual Report to Congress on Adherence to and
Compliance With Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and
Commitments," as well as the reports required by the Iran, North Korea, and Syria
Nonproliferation Act.
http://www.state.gov/t/avc
For further information, contact the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and
Compliance. Phone, 202-647-6830. Fax, 202-647-1321.

Budget and Planning
The Bureau of Budget and Planning manages budgeting and resource management
for operation accounts.
http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm
For further information, contact the Bureau of Budget and Planning. Phone, 202-6478517.

Comptroller and Global Financial Services
The Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, led by the Chief
Financial Officer, integrates strategic planning, budgeting, and performance to secure
departmental resources. The Bureau manages all departmental strategic and
performance planning; global financial services, including accounting, disbursing, and
payroll; issuance of financial statements and oversight of the Department's
management control program; coordination of national security resources and
remediation of vulnerabilities within the Department's global critical infrastructure; and
management of the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services
Program.
http://www.state.gov/m/cgfs
For further information, contact the Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial
Services. Phone, 703-875-4364.

Conflict and Stabilization Operations

Listing Agency Officials
78
https://www.usgovernmentmanual.gov/Agency.aspx?EntityId=/jQN/FRk+WE=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&EType=jY3M4CTKVHY=[11/14/2018 12:48:38 PM]

Listing Agency Officials

IX.

APPENDIX C: AGENCY WEBSITE EXEMPLARS

This appendix contains screenshots of several agency websites: the U.S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Current Commissioners, Terms of Office, and
Former Commissioners pages); the Federal Trade Commission (About the
Commissioners and Former Commissioners pages, and Timeline of Commissioners
document); and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (About the Commissioner and
Former Commissioners pages, and Organization Chart).

79

Listing Agency Officials

80

Listing Agency Officials

81

Listing Agency Officials

82

Listing Agency Officials

83

Listing Agency Officials

84

Listing Agency Officials

85

Listing Agency Officials

86

Listing Agency Officials

87

Listing Agency Officials

88