At the 200-day mark, Trump is still behind on nominations
During his first 200 days in office, President Donald Trump has sent 279 nominations to the Senate for confirmation. That compares to more than 400 nominations for Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush at the same point in their administrations. President Trump still hasn’t nominated anyone for some key economic positions.
“We still do not have a deputy secretary at the Department of Commerce,” said Kristine Simmons, with the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group focuses on government efficiency. “There’s also no head at the Office of Patent and Trademark.”
As a result, businesses are unclear on President Trump’s patent policies. Career government workers have to wait for a political appointee to be confirmed before key decisions are made, said Simmons. Career government workers “really don’t have clarity as to what their decision-making authorities may be,” she added.
Simmons said they may be waiting for a while. So far, Senate confirmation delays are longer for President Trump than they were for President Obama.
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