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You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - December 28, 2016

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Trump Administration (first term)

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President Donald Trump
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This is the December 28, 2016, edition of a daily email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition team, potential cabinet appointees, and the different policy positions of those individuals who may have had an effect on the new administration. Previous editions of "You're Hired" can be found here.

From nomination to approval

So you have kept up with all of the nominees for high-level positions in the incoming administration. And, because you read our daily briefing, you’re aware of each nominee’s background and work prior to being nominated. But what happens next? How does a designated appointee get from nomination to approval?

Most high-level (and all Cabinet) positions require the approval of the U.S. Senate. These types of appointments are referred to as PAS, presidential appointments with Senate confirmation, and there are roughly 1,200 to 1,400 such positions in the federal government. After each presidential election, the government releases the United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, more commonly called the “Plum Book,” which lists all presidential appointments and whether they need Senate confirmation. This year’s Plum Book can be found here.

Vetting and nomination

Presidential appointments begin in the executive branch. When the president has already been sworn in, this process begins with vetting by the Office of Presidential Personnel. In transition, the vetting process is typically done by the transition team of the president-elect. In the case of President-elect Trump, the vetting process has been publicly played out in Trump Tower, with Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, and other key advisors meeting potential nominees.

Once the president-elect and advisors have settled on a candidate, he or she is formally nominated in writing to the Senate. This begins the process of “Advice and Consent” in the Senate.

Advice and Consent

“Advice and Consent” refers, in part, to the authority of the United States Senate to evaluate and confirm presidential nominees provided for in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. Senate rules dictate the details of this process, which typically has five major steps. 1. The nomination is read on the floor of the Senate and is referred to the committee with jurisdiction over the nominee’s agency or department.

These are the committees with jurisdiction over each Cabinet nominee:


2. The appropriate committee holds one or more hearings with the nominee to determine if he or she is fit to serve in the role he or she has been nominated to fill. These meetings can involve intense questioning on policy stances and scrutiny of a nominee’s background.
3. If the committee chooses to take action, it can report the nomination favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation. This report is then put on the executive calendar for consideration on the Senate floor.
4. When put to the floor, the Senate considers the question, “Will the Senate advise and consent to this nomination?” A majority is required to confirm a nomination. The Senate can also choose to take no action.
5. The secretary of the Senate attests to a resolution of either confirmation or rejection and sends the resolution to the president.

For more on the appointment confirmation process, go here.

Possible nominations

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is scheduled to meet with top Trump officials Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus in Florida on Friday. Miller is seen as a leading candidate to be nominated for secretary of agriculture. We covered the possible nominees for agriculture commissioner in our December 20 edition. Here is what we said about Miller:

“ Sid Miller is the Texas agriculture commissioner. He served in the Texas State House from 2001 to 2013. A Republican, Miller was a staunch supporter of Trump throughout the 2016 election and made headlines in November when his staff called Hillary Clinton a derogatory term in a tweet sent from his Twitter account. As agriculture commissioner, Miller has sought to remove government regulations on food services in Texas schools. In 2015, for example, he removed bans in public schools on deep-fat fryers and the sale of sodas, saying, ‘Parents, superintendents, principals and locally elected school board members are best equipped to make decisions for their own communities, and I trust them to make the right choice for their schools.’ His office has also created programs aimed encouraging awareness of locally-grown foods in Texas. Miller has supported cuts to assistance programs associated with the USDA.[1] ”
—You’re Hired, December 20

Staff changes

In our December 22 edition of “You’re Hired,” we highlighted some of the staff appointments the incoming administration had made, including Jason Miller, who signed on to be the White House communications director. On December 24, Miller changed his mind. He turned down the job offer, citing his desire to spend more time with his family. Incoming press secretary Sean Spicer will take on the additional duties of communications director when the Trump administration begins.

See also

v • e
President Donald Trump's policies (first term)
OverviewsUS-WhiteHouse-Logo.svg
Domestic policy
Economic affairs and regulations
Foreign affairs and national security
Trump's second term overviews


  1. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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