Many Obama administration jobs still empty

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is still struggling to get top appointees confirmed by the Senate, seven months after his inauguration, officials said.

Key positions such as secretary of the Army and director of the Agency for International Development are still vacant, The New York Times reported Sunday. Overall, 43 percent of the top policy-making jobs requiring Senate approval are still empty.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was critical of the confirmation process when she talked to AID employees last month.

"The clearance and vetting process is a nightmare and it takes far longer than any of us would want to see," she said. "It is frustrating beyond words."

Clinton said the process "gets worse and more cumbersome" with each new administration.

In the meantime, acting officials are running many important agencies, the Times said. Paul Light, a government professor at New York University, said they do not have the same clout.

"They don't feel the same loyalties or freedom to exert control," he said. "And what you get is drift in the agencies."