political appointments
Government job assignments
Political appointments are government positions filled by elected officials rather than through civil service examinations or competitive hiring.
A president appoints cabinet members, ambassadors, and agency heads; a governor appoints judges and commissioners.
These positions typically change with administrations, unlike career civil servants who remain across terms.
She got the job through political appointment, not merit.
- nominationsFormal selections for consideration
- Senate confirmationLegislative approval of appointments
- party loyaltyCommitment to one's faction
- loyalty testAssessment of devoted allegiance
- confirmationsActs of proving true
ambassador · cabinet minister · vetting · patronage systems · background checks · public hearings · campaign contributions · expertise · transition team · chief of staff · legislative approval · spoils system · press secretary · demographic diversity · legal challenges · bureaucratic inertia · lobbying · revolving door
- civil servicecivil servants, bureaucrat, civil servant, administrator, clerk
- Spoils Systemspoils system, patronage, cronyism, favoritism, federal jobs
- appointmentsbooking, nominations, nominees, scheduled visit, calendar
- Cabinetcabinet ministers, cabinet member, cabinet secretary, cabinet position, cabinet meetings
- patronagepatrons, benefactors, sponsors, donors, backers
political, politics, politic, politically, politicize, politicized, politicization, politician, politicians