The Structure of Appointment Politics

Consistency or Change

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6301366
AutoresGary E Hollibaugh (0000-0001-9844-2437, University of Pittsburgh, autor de correspondencia), Lawrence S Rothenberg (0000-0003-2788-5585, University of Rochester, autor de correspondencia)
Año2021
Volumen46
Número2
Páginas391-426
Fecha de publicación2021-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLegislative Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0362-9805 • E-ISSN: 1939-9162
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/lsq.12282
OpenAlexW3015489060
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas67

Given its importance and level of conflict in recent decades, scholars have expended great effort analyzing appointment politics. However, despite descriptions that might lead to conclusions that the structure of how nominees are dealt with has changed over time, quantitative analyses have not investigated possible structural changes. We remedy this by conducting a changepoint analysis using data on executive nominations from 1885–2016. Two breaks involving Senate‐initiated institutional changes are uncovered: one associated with postwar congressional reorganization, the other with post‐Watergate era alterations to the relationship between Senate and President. By contrast, neither executive‐initiated changes nor disruptions in norms produced breaks. Thus, our analysis defines three different historical eras of the appointment process, suggests what causes one period to be replaced by another, and details what factors drove appointment politics in different eras. It also urges caution in generalizing from analyses of appointments incorporating features only measurable for more recent years

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