Senators urge end to 'burrowing' practice

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- At least two U.S. Senate Democrats are urging President George Bush to halt efforts to move political appointees to permanent jobs before leaving office.

In a letter to Bush, Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called the transfers -- known as "burrowing in" -- from political appointment to career positions a "regrettable, but entirely foreseeable" last-minute attempt to fill key posts with administration allies, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

"Today's (Tuesday's) report reveals that senior members of your administration are undermining your public commitment to ease the transition by reorganizing agencies at the eleventh hour and installing political appointees in key positions for which they may not be qualified," the senators wrote. "We respectfully urge you to stand by your public commitment to a smooth transition by directing executive agencies immediately to halt any conversions of political appointees to career positions."

The White House said there is no concerted effort to move political appointees into civil service jobs before President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20, contradicting published reports.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said career employees rate a political appointee's qualifications for a career position and the Office of Personnel Management oversees those decisions in the last 11 months of an administration.

Between March 1 and Nov. 3, numbers released by the OPM indicate the Bush administration allowed 20 political appointees to become career employees, the Post said. The office turned down one candidate and two were withdrawn by the submitting agency.