Answer:
The roughly 75 days between
a U.S. presidential election
and the inauguration are
as important to a second-term
president as they are to a newly
elected president, but the priorities are different.
A re-elected president is not under
time pressure to fill a full slate of
top government positions, but he
likely will need to fill many of
nearly 3,000 mid-level appointed
positions as they become vacant.
Some mid-level managers choose
to pursue other jobs after gaining
a few years of government experience. Others may retire.
The biggest challenge is finding the right people to fill those
slots so that the business of government continues. Second-term
presidents need a strong administration because they often face
tougher challenges working
with Congress, whose leaders
are familiar with the president’s
ideas and negotiating style.
How is the president’s
Cabinet chosen?
Even a re-elected president will
have some decisions to make
about the 15 executive department leaders who, along with
the vice president, make up the
Cabinet. In addition, seven officials in the Obama administration, such as the administrator
of the Environmental Protection
Agency and the U.S. Trade
Representative, hold Cabinet-rank
positions. Some of these leaders
will remain in their jobs, but others may leave or move to a different position, or the president may
choose to replace them.
The Cabinet is the president’s
group of top policy advisers. The
U.S. Constitution specifies the
president “may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal
officer in each of the executive
departments, upon any subject
relating to the duties of their
respective offices.” The Cabinet
usually meets with the president
at least weekly.
The president can dismiss Cabinet
members as he pleases. They also
are expected to resign when a
new president takes office, but
some presidents invite selected
Cabinet members from the previous administration to remain.
A Cabinet member cannot be a
member of Congress, a sitting
governor or a member of the
president’s immediate family.
The president nominates Cabinet
members, but the Senate must
confirm them before they get the
job. Sitting Cabinet members do
not need to be re-confirmed.
The number of positions requiring Senate confirmation has
grown considerably over time,
Explanation:
