March 3, 2017

Because of the general chaos surrounding the Trump White House, and the unprecedented level of opposition to Cabinet nominees on the Senate floor (almost all of whom are being filibustered), it feels like the Trump Administration is being slow to fill the ranks of Cabinet agencies, like the Department of Transportation, with nominees.

But when compared to recent Administrations, this is not the case. By this point in President Obama’s first year, he had not nominated a single appointee to USDOT below the Secretary level, either. Nor had George W. Bush, nor Bill Clinton, nor George H.W. Bush. The table below shows the pace of major USDOT appointments since President Reagan.