Swansenreport

It’s the weekend and the nation is awaiting the up or down vote on Kash Patel, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr and Tulsi Gabbard to round out President Trumps Cabinet.  Why the Senate is slow walking this process I’m certain is of the utmost of spectulation of many.

So I went to the omnipresent AI to find out what sort of time frame have previous presidents had in their cabinet picks.  By no means an exhaustive list of answers.  A sample representative selection, which vary wildly in their responses.  It would appear that the current crop of LLM’s need some work and continued training, and re-training.

The prompt: What is the longest time a newly elected President. of the United States has had to wait for his cabinet nominations to be approved and sworn in?

ChatGPT 4o

The duration for confirming and swearing in a newly elected U.S. president’s Cabinet nominees has varied throughout history, with recent administrations experiencing longer confirmation times. For instance, during President Joe Biden’s administration, confirmations took an average of about 192 days from the time they were officially submitted to the Senate until they were confirmed. This is a significant increase compared to earlier administrations, such as President Ronald Reagan’s, where the average confirmation took 69 days. 

These extended timelines can be attributed to various factors, including increased procedural hurdles and heightened partisan conflicts within the Senate. Such delays can hinder the timely implementation of a president’s agenda and affect the overall functioning of the executive branch.

It’s important to note that while the average confirmation times have increased, specific instances of exceptionally prolonged confirmations are less common. However, the general trend indicates a growing challenge in swiftly establishing a fully confirmed Cabinet in recent administrations.

Grok 2

The longest time a newly elected President of the United States has had to wait for his cabinet nominations to be approved and sworn in was during Barack Obama’s first term, where it took until April 28 to have a full cabinet confirmed. In comparison, President Joe Biden had all his initial 15 Cabinet statutory nominations approved in 61 days.

Claude

The longest delay in modern U.S. history for a full cabinet to be confirmed was during President Biden’s administration in 2021, when his final cabinet member, Eric Lander (Office of Science and Technology Policy), was confirmed in June 2021, about 5 months after inauguration.

However, I want to note that since my knowledge cutoff is in April 2024, I can’t say with certainty if any more recent administration has faced longer delays. It would be best to verify this information against current records.

Prior to Biden’s administration, President Trump’s cabinet also faced significant delays, with his final cabinet member being confirmed in April 2017. However, when looking at historical records, it’s important to note that the size of the cabinet has grown over time – the first cabinet under Washington had only four positions, while modern cabinets have over 20 positions when including Cabinet-level officials.

Also worth noting is that before the 25th Amendment was ratified in 1967, there wasn’t a formal process for succession beyond the Vice President, which made delays in cabinet confirmation potentially more problematic than they are today.

Gemini

Unfortunately, there’s no single, definitive answer to this question. Here’s why:

Data Availability: Comprehensive historical records on the exact timeline of every cabinet nomination and confirmation process aren’t readily accessible in a single source.

Varying Factors: The confirmation process can be influenced by many things, including the political climate, the nominee’s qualifications, and the specific position. This makes it difficult to compare across different presidencies.

Defining “Longest Wait”: Do we measure from the nomination announcement to the Senate vote? Or from the inauguration to the final confirmation? Different metrics could lead to different answers.

However, here are some insights based on available information:

Recent Trends: In recent decades, the confirmation process seems to be taking longer. This could be due to increased political polarization and scrutiny of nominees.

Obama Administration: Some reports suggest that President Obama’s nominees faced longer wait times on average compared to some of his predecessors. This might be attributed to the political gridlock during his time in office.

Specific Examples: While not the “longest” overall, some individual nominations stand out for their lengthy processes. For example, in 2013, Regina McCarthy’s nomination to lead the Environmental Protection Agency took 133 days to be confirmed.

Where to find more information:

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports: CRS provides in-depth reports on various aspects of the nomination and confirmation process, including historical data and trends.

The Center for Presidential Transition: This organization offers resources and analysis on presidential transitions, including information on cabinet confirmations.

News Archives: Searching news archives for specific presidencies or nominations might reveal details about particularly long or contentious confirmation processes.

While a precise answer to your question remains elusive, these resources can offer valuable insights into the complexities of cabinet confirmations throughout US history.

CoPilot

The longest wait for a newly elected U.S. President to have their Cabinet nominations approved and sworn in was experienced by President Donald Trump. It took 97 days for all of his Cabinet secretaries to be confirmed. This was longer than the confirmation times for Presidents Barack Obama (98 days), George W. Bush (12 days), and Bill Clinton (50 days)1.

The confirmation process can be quite lengthy and varies significantly depending on the political climate and the nominees themselves.