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Trump Administration Missing Hundreds of Key Government Officials

HeadlineJan 20, 2017

Today’s inauguration comes as Trump and his transition team have failed to put in place hundreds of key government officials, threatening to leave the federal government precariously short-staffed. The New York Times reports that out of 660 executive department appointments, Trump has named only 29. Only two of Trump’s Cabinet nominees have been approved by Senate committees: retired General John Kelly for homeland security secretary and retired General James “Mad Dog” Mattis for defense secretary. They still have to be confirmed by the full Senate. On Thursday, Trump announced he’d keep on 50 officials from the Obama administration, including Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, who will serve as the acting secretary of state, since Trump’s nominee, longtime ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, has so far not been approved.

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