PBS高端访谈:特朗普政府下 数百个政府要职空缺（在线收听）

Judy Woodruff: The announced departure of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe opens up yet another high-level government post under President Trump. In his case, it's being filled by the number three ranking person at the FBI. But, as our own Lisa Desjardins reports, there are still quite a few other posts in the Trump administration that remain empty one year in.

Lisa Desjardins: Let's start big. The federal government now has close to two million civilian workers nationwide. Now let's focus on the biggest bosses. There are a few hundred key positions appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. These are the people who run our government day to day. And one year into the Trump presidency, many of those posts are still empty. Let's take 630 key jobs, all of them filled by presidential nomination and tracked by the Partnership for Public Service. Of those 630 top jobs, about 240 of them right now have no nominee. Another 140 of those jobs have nominees, but they're waiting to be confirmed. Upshot? More than half of key positions right now are unfilled. What are these jobs exactly? The top jobs, agency heads and the second- and third-highest ranking rungs underneath. What do they do? A lot. Things like keeping roads safe. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration does not have an administrator, its top job, right now, nor anyone to head its legal, financial or enforcement divisions. That reportedly has frozen several new safety standards. Something else affected? The opioid crisis. The White House Drug Control Office, meant to work on the issue, has no director, and has seen several other appointees leave. And there is a long list of other vacancies, top spots at the Pentagon and at the State Department, at the Agriculture Department, the offices overseeing national food safety. And at the Energy Department, several key nuclear oversight jobs are unfilled. That's just to name a few. So who's running things? A change in federal law that went into effect just last year allows a temporary acting replacement in these jobs, but only for 300 days. That's to give presidents time to make nominations. But Mr. Trump hasn't made nominations for hundreds of these jobs, and the 300-day clock has run out. That's creating an unprecedented situation. Those acting in these jobs do not technically have the legal authority to do them anymore. One other reason for vacancies, more workers are leaving. The Washington Post reported more than 70,000 federal workers quit or retired in the first six months of the Trump administration. That is a 42 percent increase over the same period for President Obama. But, overall, President Trump may not see any of this as a problem.

President Donald Trump: We don't need all the people that they want. You know, don't forget, I'm a businessperson. I tell my people, when you don't need to fill slots, don't fill them.

Lisa Desjardins: The president wants to shrink government. And that includes at the top. Mr. Trump has fewer slots filled or nominated than any president in 25 years. What we don't know is whether this will make government impressively more efficient or dangerously less functional. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Lisa Desjardins.

Judy Woodruff: Thank you, Lisa.

朱蒂·伍德瑞夫：美国联邦调查局副局长安德鲁·麦卡比宣布卸任，特朗普政府又空出了一个高级职位。目前，这个职位被FBI内排名第三的人物填充。但是，据我们的丽莎·德雅尔丹报道，一年下来，特朗普政府内仍有不少职位空缺。

丽莎·德雅尔丹：让我们先从高级职位开始。在全国范围内，联邦政府现有接近两百万名文职人员。现在让我们聚焦这些大佬。目前有几百个（政府）要职，是由总统亲自任命，由参议院批准（生效）的。这些人维护着我们政府的日常运转。特朗普政府上任已有一年，而这里面的很多职位仍然空缺。让我们来说说630个重要职位，这些职位全部是由总统提名，并由Partnership for Public Service追踪（审查）的。这630个顶级职位中，有240个目前尚未获得提名。另有140个已获提名，但仍在等待（审核）确认。结果呢？目前这些要职中空缺职位过半。这些职位到底是什么？顶级职位，机构（头号）负责人以及二号三号负责人。他们是做什么的？很多。比如道路安全保障工作。美国国家公路交通安全管理局局长，其最高职位，目前没有任命，其法律、财政、执法部门也无人领英。据报道，该局已经冻结了几个新的安全标准。还有什么其他影响？阿片危机。White House Drug Control Office应负责此项工作，但这里没有负责人，其他几名官员也纷纷离任。此外，还有许多职位空缺，五角大楼、国务院、农业部及负责国家食品安全的部门，都有最高职位空缺。在能源部有一些关键的核监管职位空缺。这只不过是点出名的几个而已。那么现在是谁负责这些事宜？去年联邦法律对此作出调整，允许这些职位有临时人员代职，但最长时间仅有300天。这是为了给总统（充足）的提名时间。但是特朗普先生并没有拿出这数百个职位的提名人选，然而300天已过。这种局面前所未有。准确来说，这些职位的代行人员，现已不再具有合法行政权力。职位空缺的另一原因是，离任人数增加。据华盛顿邮报报道，在特朗普政府执政的前六个月中，有超过70000名联邦雇员辞职或退休。这一数字较奥巴马总统同期增加了42%。但总的来说，特朗普总统可能并不以为意。

唐纳德·特朗普总统：我们并不需要他们想要的全部人选。你知道的，别忘了，我是个商人。我告诉我的人民，当你不需要填缺时，就不要填。

丽莎·德雅尔丹：总统想缩小政府规模。包括顶级职位，也是如此。相较25年内的历任总统，特朗普先生填缺提名人数最少。我们不知道的是，这样做会让政府更加高效运转还是会陷入危机，弱化政府职能。PBS NewsHour，我是丽莎·德雅尔丹。

朱蒂·伍德瑞夫：谢谢你，丽莎。