The Plum Book

When Dwight Eisenhower took office in 1953 as the first Republican President in 20 years, his party asked for a list of the jobs it could fill, and the Civil Service Commission produced one. Since 1960 the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs have alternated publishing it every four years, just after the presidential election. Its formal title is United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, but it has long been called the Plum Book, after the color of its cover and the political plums it lists.

The book lists about 9,000 positions in the legislative and executive branches, including roughly 1,300 that require Senate confirmation, such as cabinet secretaries, deputy and under secretaries, ambassadors, U.S. attorneys, and members of boards and commissions. It also lists noncareer Senior Executive Service positions, Schedule C aides, and other posts filled at an agency's discretion. For each position it gives the title, location, type of appointment, pay level, and term, and identifies the current holder when one is serving.

Because the book is published only once every four years, it quickly falls out of date, and transition teams and researchers have long relied on other sources to track appointments. The PLUM Act, enacted in December 2022, requires the Office of Personnel Management to maintain a public, regularly updated online database of political appointees. Supporters say a current, searchable list improves accountability and helps new administrations staff the government, while some critics note that the sheer number of political positions in the U.S. government, far more than in other democracies, is itself a problem.