Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 FVRA

Congress has regulated temporary appointments since 1792, but by the 1990s executive branch lawyers argued that agencies' own organic statutes allowed open-ended acting service, and some acting officials served for years without Senate confirmation. In response, Congress passed the Federal Vacancies Reform Act as part of an omnibus spending law signed on October 21, 1998. The act is the main way to fill vacancies in roughly 1,300 positions requiring Senate confirmation, though some agency statutes provide their own rules.

By default, the first assistant to a vacant office becomes acting officer. The President may instead direct another Senate-confirmed official, or a senior employee of the same agency who has served at least 90 days at a high pay level, to act. Acting service is generally limited to 210 days from the vacancy, extended to 300 days for vacancies near the start of a new administration, and the clock pauses while a nomination is pending. Actions taken by someone serving in violation of the act have no force or effect, and the Government Accountability Office reports violations to Congress.

In NLRB v. SW General in 2017 the Supreme Court held that a person nominated for an office generally cannot serve as its acting officer, unless already serving as first assistant for 90 days. Administrations of both parties have relied heavily on acting officials, and since 2025 courts have examined whether several acting and interim officials, including U.S. attorneys appointed under related statutes, were serving lawfully. Supporters of flexibility say acting officials keep government running during long confirmation fights, while critics say heavy reliance on them evades the Senate's advice and consent role.