美國總統唐納德·特朗普上任不到三年，已經聘請了不下28名代理內閣部長，超過了克林頓時期的27名，以及奧巴馬時期的23名。

斯坦福大學的一位法學教授安妮·約瑟夫·歐康奈爾解釋說，啟用代理內閣成員并不是什么新鮮事，總統們經常在其執政初期或在第二個任期開始時任命代職人員，而此時參議院則在執行批準流程。

但特朗普的代職內閣成員數量比他的前任還要多，尤其在他入主白宮后的第二和第三個年頭更是如此。歐康奈爾強調，例如，特朗普在2018年有5名代職內閣成員，而克林頓只有兩位，奧巴馬當時為零。小布什總統在就任第二年時只有一位。

但鮮有跡象表明，特朗普將改變其策略。

自上次國土安全部負責人人選獲批才過去200多天的時間，特朗普又宣布了一項臨時替換決定：查德·沃爾夫。但國土安全部并非是唯一由代理部長領導的內閣部門。

內閣包括副總統和15位執行部門的負責人，涵蓋農業部、商務部、國防部、教育部、能源部、衛生與公共服務部、國土安全部、房屋與城市發展部、內政部、勞工部、國務院、交通部、財政部和退伍軍人事務部，以及司法部。

但每一位總統還有權將其他職務晉升為內閣成員或降級。例如，特朗普的內閣包括白宮幕僚長以及環保署、行政管理與預算辦公室、美國貿易代表、中央情報局、國家情報主任辦公室和小企業管理局。

很明顯，未登上這份名單的部門包括歷史上內閣的常駐成員美國駐聯合國大使。特朗普認為這一職務在妮基·黑利于去年年底辭職之后便不再享有內閣級別待遇。

在特朗普當前的23名內閣成員中，有5名都是代職：白宮幕僚長米克·馬爾瓦尼、國土安全部的沃爾夫、行政管理與預算辦公室主任羅塞爾·沃特、國家情報主任辦公室主任約瑟夫·馬奎爾和小企業管理局負責人克里斯·皮爾克頓。數十名其他政府官員在過去幾年中也曾經擔任過代理職務。

然而，也有少數內閣成員從未做過“代理”一職。

桑尼·普度在特朗普當選那年的4月便一直擔任農業部部長。商務部部長威爾伯·羅斯和教育部部長貝特西·迪沃斯自2017年2月以來便一直擔任該職務。本·卡森自2017年1月便一直擔任交通部部長，史蒂文·穆欽自2017年2月中旬便一直擔任財政部部長。特朗普的能源部部長里克·佩里自2017年3月便出任這一職務，但據稱他將在今年年底卸任。

這些人似乎擺脫了這一規則的約束。一直在跟蹤政府機構人員變動的布魯金斯學會研究員卡斯萊恩·騰帕斯指出，10名已確認的內閣成員在特朗普上臺后已經離任。特朗普入主白宮后首年內的人員變動率要高于在他之前的五任總統。

當內閣成員離開時，法律明確規定了相應的流程：除了白宮幕僚長和副總統外，所有內閣級別的官員必須得到參議院的批準。

然而，1998年《聯邦職務空缺改革法案》（Federal Vacancies Reform Act）制造了一個漏洞，能夠讓總統通過臨時任命其它頂層聯邦雇員來填補空缺。總統可在“執行機構官員……死亡、辭職或無法履行其功能和職責的情況下”進行任命。不過，總統只能任命該職務的繼任者，例如其副職，或至少在有待替代的部長手下工作過90天的人員。

盡管在參議院批準總統的常任替代人選提名期間，該法律通常被作為一種空缺填補解決方案，但特朗普在上臺后一直在大肆使用該法律來任命代理部長，而且沒有直接制定相關計劃，用參議院批準的人員來取代代理部長。

該法律在理論上將代理人員的任職期限限制為210天，但如果參議院在這一期間否決常任替代人選提名，那么這210天的期限將重新開始計算，因此代理部長實際上可以任職1年以上。這個210天的期限共計可以重啟三次。

特朗普在1月表示：“我喜歡任命代理部長。此舉能夠提供更大的靈活性。你知道嗎？我喜歡任命代理職務，這樣我們便可以擁有少數代理部長，從而打造一個極好的內閣。”

紐約大學的一位公共服務教授保爾·萊特認為此舉帶來的并非是靈活性，而是“級別困惑。”有鑒于特朗普創紀錄的代理職務任命，萊特說，“此舉帶來的是混亂、不確定性，往往給人一種無人或人人掌權的感覺，不過這似乎正是總統想要的。代理部長們缺乏能夠讓憂心忡忡的機構們感到放心的一個優勢：參議院批準所確立的威信。”

騰帕斯認為，此舉并非是出于行政管理的需要、進行深思熟慮之后做出的決策，而是“偶然為之”。她將特朗普對這種對代理內閣成員靈活性的喜好稱之為站不住腳的主張，“因為他總是保持著這種靈活性——雇員為總統的喜好服務。他可以隨心所欲地開除或重新任命這些職務。”此外，騰帕斯還認為，真正的問題在于招募，因為當前政府還在努力尋找能夠獲得參議院批準的稱職候選人。

騰帕斯表示：“有鑒于穆勒的調查，總統對開除和侮辱高級別任命官員的喜好，以及如今的總統彈劾程序，當前并非是加入特朗普政府的好時候。”

讓我們來了解一下特朗普入主白宮以來所任命的內閣級別代理負責人。

國防部

自國防部部長吉姆·馬蒂斯在去年年底辭職之后，帕特里克·沙納罕曾經擔任國防部代理部長，于今年6月卸任。特朗普一開始提名他為該職務的常任人選，后來因為家庭暴力指控而撤銷了這一提名。

馬克·艾斯博在今夏曾經代理這一職務三周的時間，隨后由理查德·斯賓塞接替了一周的時間，直到艾斯博在6月底得到了參議院的批準。

衛生與公共服務部

特朗普首個得到批準的衛生與公共服務部部長湯姆·普萊斯只待到了2017年9月。2018年1月之前，唐·懷特和埃里克·哈根先后擔任代理部長，直到亞歷克斯·阿扎獲批成為了新部長。

國土安全部

最近離任代理部長的是麥克里南。在2017年7月約翰·克里離開這一部門轉而擔任特朗普的幕僚長之后，伊萊恩·杜克成為了代理繼任，直到2017年12月克斯琴·尼爾森獲得了批準。當克斯琴轉而于今年4月辭職時，麥克里南填補了這一空缺。11月，查德·沃爾夫成為了新任代理部長。

內政部

大衛·彭哈特于今年4月獲得批準擔任內政部部長，此前曾經代理該職務數個月的時間。前任萊恩·辛克因為相關調查而于今年1月辭職。

勞工部

帕特里克·皮澤拉曾經于6月中旬到9月底擔任代理部長，直到尤金·斯卡利亞獲參議院批準擔任新部長。皮澤拉的前任亞歷山大·阿科斯塔因對10年前起訴杰弗里·愛普斯坦的性侵案件處理不當而辭職。

國務院

2018年3月，時任國務卿雷克斯·蒂勒森遭到解雇，當時，前中央情報局局長邁克·蓬佩奧獲繼任提名，并得到了參議院的通過。

退伍軍人事務部

特朗普入主白宮后任命過兩任退伍軍人事務部代理部長。在特朗普于2018年3月解雇大衛·舒爾金之后，羅伯特·威爾基以及隨后的皮特·歐洛克曾經擔任代理部長，直到威爾基于2018年7月獲批轉正。

司法部部長

自杰夫·瑟辛斯辭職之后，馬修·懷特克于去年11月開始擔任代理司法部部長，直到威廉姆·巴爾獲參議院批準。

白宮幕僚長

在幕僚長約翰·凱利辭職之后，米克·馬爾瓦尼于今年年初開始擔任代理幕僚長。凱利的前任是倫斯·普瑞布斯，他曾經于特朗普上臺后第一年的前半年擔任這一職務。

馬爾瓦尼理論上還是行政管理與預算辦公室主任，如今這一職務已經交給代理主任羅塞爾·沃特。有報道稱，馬爾瓦尼可能在不久后離任。

環境保護署

在斯考特·布魯特于2018年7月離職之后，安德魯·維勒一直擔任代理負責人。今年2月底，他獲參議院批準轉正。

行政管理與預算辦公室

盡管米克·馬爾瓦尼仍然是名義上的主任，但羅塞爾·沃特自馬爾瓦尼接任白宮幕僚長一職之后便一直擔任代理一職。

美國貿易代表

繼兩名短暫的代職之后，羅伯特·萊特希澤于2017年5月開始擔任美國貿易代表。

中央情報局

邁克·蓬佩奧自特朗普就職之后一直擔任中央情報局局長，但自去年4月開始擔任國務卿。接替他的是吉娜·哈斯佩爾，她在擔任代職近一個月之后于2018年5月底獲得參議院通過。

國家情報主任辦公室

丹·寇茨于2017年3月以來一直擔任局長一職，并于今年8月離任。特朗普最初宣布準備提名約翰·拉特克里夫接替寇茨，但隨后撤銷了這一提名，因為有報道稱拉特克里夫夸大了其作為檢察官的工作經歷。約翰·馬奎爾自8月中旬開始擔任代理主任。

小企業管理局

琳達·麥克馬洪于2017年2月開始擔任小企業管理局局長，并于今年4月離職，擔任特朗普2020超級政治行動委員會主席。克里斯·皮爾克頓自此之后一直擔任代理局長。

美國駐聯合國大使

在妮基·黑利去年年底辭去該職務之后，特朗普政府決定該職務將不再入選內閣成員名單。盡管如此，喬納森·科罕從1月開始擔任代理大使，并于8月中旬離任。凱利·克拉夫特在7月底獲參議院通過，并于9月中旬上任。（財富中文網）

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

In the less than three years since President Donald Trump took office, he has had no less than 28 acting cabinet secretaries—more than the 27 total employed during President Bill Clinton’s eight years in office, and the 23 over the course of the Obama administration.

Relying on acting cabinet members is not unheard of by any means; presidents often use them at the beginning of their administration or at the start of their second term while the senate goes through the confirmation process, explains Anne Joseph O’Connell, a law professor at Stanford University.

But Trump’s cabinet has been filled by more acting secretaries than any of his predecessors—especially in his second and third years in office. O’Connell highlights that Trump had five in 2018, for example, compared to Clinton’s two, and Obama’s zero at the same time. President George W. Bush had one in his second year in office.

And there is little indication that Trump will change his tack.

More than 200 days since the Department of Homeland Security last had a confirmed secretary at its head, Trump announced yet another temporary replacement: Chad Wolf. But Homeland Security is far from the only cabinet office that has been led by an acting secretary.

The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments, including the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Attorney General.

But each president also has the power to elevate other positions to Cabinet-rank—or demote them. Trump’s Cabinet, for example, includes the White House Chief of Staff and heads of the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Management and Budget, United States Trade Representative, Central Intelligence Agency, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Small Business Administration.

Noticeably absent from this list is the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, a position that has historically been given cabinet rank. Trump decided that the role would no longer be a cabinet position following Nikki Haley’s exit at the end of last year.

Of the current 23 cabinet positions in the Trump administration, five are serving in an acting capacity: White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, DHS Secretary Wolf, OMB Director Russell Vought, DNI Joseph Maguire, and Small Business Administration head Chris Pilkerton. Dozens of other government officials have served as acting secretaries in the past couple of years.

Yet a few cabinet members have evaded the “acting” title.

Sonny Perdue has served as Secretary of Agriculture since April of Trump’s first year in office. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has served in that position since late February 2017 and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos since early February. Ben Carson has served as HUD Secretary since March 2017. Elaine Chao has served as Secretary of Transportation since January 2017, and Steven Mnuchin has been Treasury Secretary since mid-February of that year. And while Rick Perry, Trump’s Secretary of Energy, has served in that role since March 2017, he is reportedly due to resign before the end of the year.

These individuals appear to be the exception to the rule. According to Kathryn Tenpas, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who has been tracking turnover across government agencies, 10 confirmed cabinet members have left their positions during the Trump administration. The turnover rate of Trump’s first year in office is higher than all of his five immediate predecessors.

When a cabinet member departs, the law clearly defines the process: other than the White House Chief of Staff and the Vice President, all cabinet-level officials must be confirmed by the Senate.

The Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, however, creates a loophole, allowing a president to temporarily fill vacancies with other top federal employees. These appointments can be made after an “officer of the Executive Agency...dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office.” But the president is limited to filling those vacancies with an individual who would otherwise be next in line for the position such as a deputy—or at least have served for 90 days under the secretary they would be replacing.

While this law has typically been used as a stopgap solution while the Senate is considering the president’s nomination for a permanent replacement, Trump has used the law numerous times since taking office, putting acting secretaries in place, without immediate plans to replace them with Senate-confirmed members.

The law technically limits how long someone can serve in an acting capacity at 210 days—but if the Senate rejects a nomination for a permanent replacement in that timeframe, the 210 day counter restarts, effectively allowing acting secretaries to remain in their role for more than a year. This 210 day counter can be restarted a total of three times.

“I like acting,” Trump said in January. “It gives me more flexibility. Do you understand that? I like acting. So we have a few that are acting. We have a great, great cabinet.”

Paul Light, a professor of public service at NYU, doesn’t see flexibility, but “rank confusion.” With Trump’s record-setting acting appointments, Light says that “the result is turmoil, uncertainty, and a general sense that no one and everyone is in charge, which is exactly what the president appears to prefer. Acting appointees lack the one thing that might calm anxious agencies, which is the credibility that comes with a Senate confirmation.”

Tenpas thinks that this has not so much been a deliberate decision on the part of the administration, but rather “one they stumbled upon.” She calls Trump’s contention of preferring the flexibility associated with acting cabinet members a dubious claim “since he always maintains flexibility—staff serve at the pleasure of the president. He can fire/reassign whenever he likes.” Rather, Tenpas suggests that recruitment could be the real issue, as the administration has struggled to find qualified candidates who could be confirmed.

“Given the Mueller investigation, the president’s penchant for firing and humiliating high level appointees, and now the impeachment process—it doesn’t seem like an opportune moment to join the administration,” Tenpas says.

Here’s a look at the acting heads of the various Cabinet-level positions over the course of Trump’s presidency.

Defense

Following Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ departure at the end of last year, Patrick Shanahan served as Acting Secretary of Defense until June of this year. Trump had initially nominated him to continue in the role on a permanent basis, but withdrew his nomination due to allegations of domestic violence.

Mark Esper then entered the role in an acting capacity for three weeks this summer, followed by Richard V. Spencer, who assumed the role for about a week, until Esper was confirmed in late July.

Health and Human Services

Trump’s first confirmed HHS Secretary, Tom Price, only stayed in the role until September 2017. Don Wright and Eric Hargan subsequently filled the role in acting capacities through late January 2018, at which time Alex Azar was confirmed as the new secretary.

Homeland Security

McAleenan was the most recent Acting DHS Secretary to leave the post. After John Kelly left the agency to become Trump’s Chief of Staff in July 2017, Elaine Duke was the Acting DHS Secretary until Kirstjen Nielsen was confirmed in December of that year. When she in turn resigned in April of this year, McAleenan filled the position. Chad Wolf was sworn in as the latest Acting DHS Secretary on November.

Interior

David Bernhardt, who was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior in April, served in an Acting capacity for several months prior. Ryan Zinke had previously served in the role, but resigned in January of this year amid investigations.

Labor

Patrick Pizzella served as Acting Labor Secretary from mid-July until late September, when Eugene Scalia was confirmed to the position. Alexander Acosta, who was Labor Secretary prior to Pizzella, resigned due to his involvement in a mishandled sex crimes case against Jeffrey Epstein a decade ago.

State

Rex Tillerson was fired as Secretary of State in March 2018, at which time Mike Pompeo, formerly Director of the CIA, was nominated and confirmed as his replacement.

Veterans Affairs

There have been two Acting Secretaries of Veterans Affairs under Trump. After Trump fired David Shulkin in March 2018, Robert Wilkie and then Peter O’Rourke served in acting capacities, until Wilkie was confirmed in July of that year.

Attorney General

Matthew Whitaker served as Acting Attorney General from November of last year after Jeff Sessions resigned, until February of this year, when William Barr was confirmed.

White House Chief of Staff

Mick Mulvaney has served as the Acting Chief of Staff since the start of the year, when then-Chief of Staff John Kelly stepped down. Kelly succeeded Reince Priebus, who served in the role for the first half of Trump’s first year as president.

Mulvaney is also technically the Director of the OMB, a role that is now being filled in an acting capacity by Russell Vought. And reports suggest that Mulvaney could be out before long.

Environmental Protection Agency

Andrew Wheeler served as the Acting head of the EPA after Scott Pruitt’s departure in July 2018, until late February of this year, when he was confirmed by the Senate.

Office of Management and Budget

While Mick Mulvaney is still the Director of the OMB in name, Russell Vought has served as Acting Director since Mulvaney stepped into the role of White House Chief of Staff.

United States Trade Representative

Following two short stints by acting members, Robert Lighthizer has served as U.S. Trade Representative since May 2017.

Central Intelligence Agency

Mike Pompeo, who has since become Secretary of State, served as Director of the CIA from the start of Trump’s presidency until April of last year. He was followed by Gina Haspel, who served in an acting capacity for nearly a month, before she was confirmed in late May 2018.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Dan Coats served as DNI from March 2017 until he stepped down in August of this year. Trump initially announced that he would nominate John Ratcliffe to replace Coats, but then quickly dropped him after reports revealed that Ratcliffe had overstated his record as a prosecutor. Joseph Maguire has instead served as Acting DNI since mid-August.

Small Business Administration

Linda McMahon served as Administrator of the Small Business Administration from February 2017 until leaving in April of this year to chair Trump’s 2020 Super PAC. In the months since, Chris Pilkerton has served in an acting capacity.

U. S. Ambassador to the UN

After Nikki Haley’s departure as Ambassador to the UN at the end of last year, the Trump administration chose not to make the role a Cabinet-level position. Nonetheless, Jonathan Cohen served in an acting capacity from January until mid-August. Kelly Craft, who was confirmed to the role in late July, began her post in mid-September.