Tracking Vacant Positions by Agency and President
More presidentally appointed positions that require Senate confirmation sat vacant at the end of President Obama's first term than at the end of Bill Clinton or George W. Bush's first terms, according to a ProPublica analysis. This chart shows the percentage of those positions that were unfilled in each department and agency in 1996, 2004 and 2012. The data comes from the Plum Book, a list of political appointees that is published once every four years. | Related: Under Obama, More Appointments Go Unfilled
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| Body | Percent of Appointments Vacant (1996) | Percent of Appointments Vacant (2004) | Percent of Appointments Vacant (2012) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative Council of the United States | N/A | N/A | 0% |
| Advisory Council on Historic Preservation | N/A | 0% | N/A |
| African Development Foundation | 14% | 20% | N/A |
| Appalachian Regional Commission | 50% | 0% | 50% |
| Architect of the Capitol | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation | 0% | N/A | 0% |
| Broadcasting Board of Governors | N/A | 0% | 11% |
| Central Intelligence Agency | 0% | 50% | 0% |
| Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board | N/A | N/A | 40% |
| Commodity Futures Trading Commission | 0% | 40% | 20% |
| Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | N/A | N/A | 100% |
| Consumer Product Safety Commission | 40% | 40% | 20% |
| Corporation for National and Community Service | 29% | 31% | 0% |
| Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia | N/A | 0% | 0% |
| Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board | 0% | 20% | 20% |
| Delta Regional Authority | N/A | 0% | 0% |
| Department of Agriculture | 20% | 19% | 7% |
| Department of Commerce | 18% | 16% | 29% |
| Department of Defense (Department of the Air Force) | 14% | 0% | 29% |
| Department of Defense (Department of the Army) | 0% | 38% | 0% |
| Department of Defense (Department of the Navy) | 0% | 29% | 14% |
| Department of Defense (Office of the Secretary) | 0% | 17% | 13% |
| Department of Education | 13% | 15% | 24% |
| Department of Energy | 16% | 25% | 22% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | 26% | 21% | 25% |
| Department of Homeland Security | N/A | 6% | 14% |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | 13% | 13% | 43% |
| Department of Justice | 4% | 6% | 8% |
| Department of Labor | 18% | 16% | 39% |
| Department of State | 8% | 3% | 9% |
| Department of Transportation | 11% | 13% | 17% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | 8% | 29% | 20% |
| Department of the Interior | 17% | 6% | 33% |
| Department of the Treasury | 34% | 25% | 22% |
| Environmental Protection Agency | 8% | 36% | 21% |
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | 17% | 0% | 17% |
| Executive Office of the President | 40% | 13% | 31% |
| Export-Import Bank of the United States | 20% | 0% | 0% |
| Farm Credit Administration | 33% | 0% | 0% |
| Federal Communications Commission | 20% | 0% | 0% |
| Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation | 0% | 0% | 20% |
| Federal Election Commission | 17% | 0% | 0% |
| Federal Emergency Management Agency | 20% | N/A | N/A |
| Federal Energy Regulatory Commission | 0% | 20% | 0% |
| Federal Housing Finance Agency | N/A | N/A | 100% |
| Federal Housing Finance Board | 20% | 20% | N/A |
| Federal Labor Relations Authority | 0% | 0% | 25% |
| Federal Maritime Commission | 20% | 0% | 0% |
| Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission | 40% | 20% | 0% |
| Federal Reserve System | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Federal Trade Commission | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| General Services Administration | 50% | 0% | 50% |
| Government Accountability Office | N/A | 50% | 50% |
| Government Accounting Office | 0% | N/A | N/A |
| Government Printing Office | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| Inter-American Foundation | 22% | N/A | 33% |
| International Joint Commission | N/A | N/A | 0% |
| John F. Kennedy Center | N/A | N/A | 11% |
| Library of Congress | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Marine Mammal Commission | N/A | 0% | 0% |
| Merit Systems Protection Board | 0% | 33% | 0% |
| Millennium Challenge Corporation | N/A | 0% | 40% |
| Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation | N/A | 0% | 11% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 25% | 0% | 0% |
| National Archives and Records Administration | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| National Commission on Libraries and Information Science | 0% | 0% | N/A |
| National Council on Disability | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| National Credit Union Administration | 0% | 33% | 0% |
| National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities | 9% | 5% | 0% |
| National Labor Relations Board | 25% | 0% | 0% |
| National Mediation Board | 0% | 0% | 33% |
| National Science Foundation | 38% | 6% | 0% |
| National Transportation Safety Board | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Northern Border Regional Commission | N/A | N/A | 0% |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission | 0% | 33% | 0% |
| Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission | 0% | 0% | 33% |
| Office of Government Ethics | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Office of Personnel Management | 0% | 0% | 33% |
| Office of Special Counsel | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Office of the Director of National Intelligence | N/A | N/A | 0% |
| Office of the Federal Coordinator Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Project | N/A | N/A | 0% |
| Overseas Private Investment Corporation | N/A | 10% | 0% |
| Panama Canal Commission | 0% | N/A | N/A |
| Peace Corps | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation | N/A | N/A | 0% |
| Postal Rate Commission | 20% | 20% | N/A |
| Postal Regulatory Commission | N/A | N/A | 0% |
| Railroad Retirement Board | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Securities and Exchange Commission | 20% | 0% | 0% |
| Selective Service System | 0% | N/A | 0% |
| Small Business Administration | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Social Secuity Administration | 17% | 33% | 0% |
| Surface Transportation Board | 0% | N/A | N/A |
| Tennessee Valley Authority | 0% | 0% | 30% |
| Trade and Development Agency | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| United States Agency for International Development | N/A | 23% | 25% |
| United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency | 25% | N/A | N/A |
| United States Election Assistance Commission | N/A | 0% | 100% |
| United States Information Agency | 0% | N/A | N/A |
| United States Institute of Peace | 9% | 0% | 13% |
| United States International Development Cooperation Agency | 13% | N/A | N/A |
| United States International Trade Commission | 0% | 0% | 14% |
| United States Postal Service | 0% | 33% | 0% |
| United States Tax Court | 5% | 5% | N/A |