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News

• Thirty-two members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including its chairman Joaquin Castro, called on Biden to nominate New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for secretary of health and human services. In a signed letter, they called the nomination of Cuban-American Alejandro Mayorkas for secretary of homeland security a “good start” for Latino representation.

• Postmaster General Louis DeJoy (R) is expected to remain in office when the Biden administration takes power because a president may not remove the postmaster general. Only the Postal Service’s governing board—which is currently composed of six Trump-appointed Republicans—may do so.

• Biden is considering creating an Asia tsar position on the National Security Council with an emphasis on U.S.-China relations.

• Politico reported that, in anticipation of Republican challenges in the Senate to their appointees, the Biden Transition is focusing on appointments for mid- and lower-level officials at agencies that do not require Senate confirmation. 

• Attorney General Bill Barr (R) said on Tuesday that the Department of Justice had not found any evidence of “fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”

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Transition in Context: What is The Plum Book?

The United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, also known as The Plum Book, is released every four years after the presidential election to provide a list of more than 9,000 key federal civil service positions.This 200-page document is published by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The positions featured are noncompetitive, meaning they can be filled by appointment. Most presidential appointments—1,242 in 2016—require Senate confirmation (PAS). These PAS positions include not only agency heads like the secretary of state or the secretary of the Treasury, but also other roles like the architect of the Capitol, the chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

In 2016, another 472 positions were presidential appointments that did not require Senate confirmation (PA). Examples of these PA-only positions include White House chief of staff, director of the National Institute of Justice, and the chairman of the Commission on Civil Rights.

The Plum Book also includes information about thousands of other political appointments, including Senior Executive Service general positions and Senior Foreign Service positions. 

The tradition of the Plum Book has existed for more than six decades.

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What We're Reading

• The Hill: Republican frustration builds over Cabinet picks
• The New York Times: Republican Resistance to Tanden Illustrates Trouble Ahead for Biden
• The Washington Post: Laws and customs guide presidential transitions — but some go off the rails anyway