Donald Trump has filled only 30 of the 660 vacancies in his administration

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

last updated 20 January 2017

On Friday, after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in, the Senate is expected to confirm his picks for defense secretary, retired Gen. James Mattis, and homeland security secretary, retired Gen. John Kelly, plus maybe designated CIA director, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) — but the other nominees will have to wait. Those won't be the only holes in the new Trump administration, however. Trump has named only 30 of his roughly 660 executive office appointees, according to the Partnership for Public Service, putting him far behind recent incoming presidents.

To keep the government running, the Trump transition team said Thursday it will keep on 50 essential national security and State Department officials appointed by Obama until their replacements are in place. Included in the list is Thomas A. Shannon Jr., who will be acting secretary of state.

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Since his election on Nov. 8, Mr. Trump has had little interest in the minutiae of his transition, saying it was "bad karma" to get too involved, according to a person who spoke with him at the time. At one point, he wanted to halt the planning altogether, out of superstition, the person said. [The New York Times]

"In 21 years of covering the State Department and in eight years of serving there, I've seen rocky transitions and experienced what feels like a hostile takeover," Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institute and a former journalist and Bill Clinton administration official, tells The New York Times, "but I've never seen anything like this."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.