List of United States political appointments across party lines
United States presidents typically fill their Cabinets and other appointive positions with people from their own political party. The first Cabinet formed by the first President, George Washington, included some of Washington's political opponents, but later presidents adopted the practice of filling their Cabinets with members of the President's party.[1]
Appointments across party lines are uncommon. Presidents may appoint members of a different party to high-level positions in order to reduce partisanship or improve cooperation between the political parties.[2]
This is a list of people appointed to high-level positions in the United States federal government by a President whose political party affiliation was different from that of the appointee. The list includes executive branch appointees and independent agency appointees. Independent or nonpartisan appointees, nominally apolitical appointments (such as Article III judges and military officers), and members of explicitly bipartisan commissions are not included.
[edit] List of appointees
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
[edit] Other notable appointments that crossed party lines
- President Benjamin Harrison, a Republican, appointed Howell Edmunds Jackson, a Democrat, as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
- President Herbert Hoover, a Republican, appointed Benjamin N. Cardozo, a prominent Democrat, as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
- President Warren G. Harding, a Republican, appointed Pierce Butler, a Democrat, as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, appointed Harlan F. Stone, a Republican, as Chief Justice of the United States.
- President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, attempted to appoint Governor of Massachusetts William Weld, a Republican, as United States Ambassador to Mexico.
- President Barack Obama, a Democrat, attempted to appoint U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican, as United States Secretary of Commerce.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Mr. Wilson's Cabinet; Will Be Sagacious Men, But Not Political Experts, The New York Times, November 7, 1912
- ^ William S. Cohen, Across Party Lines, Washington Post, December 17, 2000
- ^ SIX FOR THE KENNEDY CABINET, Time, December 26, 1960.
- ^ Hodgson, Godfrey. Obituary: McGeorge Bundy. independent.co.uk, September 18, 1996.
- ^ McGeorge Bundy. jfklibrary.org
- ^ a b c d Appointee was a Democrat at the beginning of this tenure.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Dana Priest, An 'Outsider' Set to Take Over Pentagon, Washington Post, Wednesday, January 22, 1997; Page A21. "Although other presidents have crossed party lines to fill the top defense post, Cohen ... would be the first Republican politician to serve a Democratic president in the position."
- ^ Tapper, Jake. Losing his religion? Negotiating a bill through Congress, Bush's faith czar expresses frustration with his own White House. Salon.com, June 5, 2001.
- ^ a b
"member, American Battle Monuments Commission, 2005-"
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress document "MILLER, Zell Bryan".
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