Sen. Kaine Introduces Bill to Limit Political Appointees and Increase Transparency at State Department
This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being sent to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for review. It is actively moving through the system, but no future hearings or votes have been scheduled yet. There is no companion bill listed for this legislation at this time.
This bill is sponsored only by Democrats and limits the power of the President to appoint political allies, which usually faces strong opposition from the executive branch.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Career foreign service officers and senior executive service members would benefit from the 75% hiring requirement for Assistant Secretary positions, creating a clearer path to top leadership roles. The 90-day cap on political appointees at embassies also protects career diplomats from being sidelined by temporary political staff, reinforcing a professional, merit-based culture at the State Department.
“Not fewer than 75 percent of the Assistant Secretaries in the Department of State shall have served in the Senior Foreign Service or the Senior Executive Service.”
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Chris Van Hollen, and Jeff Merkley introduced legislation to protect the State Department from politicization. The act requires most top leaders to be career professionals and adds strict requirements for nominees to prove knowledge of their host country's culture.
The State Department Integrity and Transparency Act aims to professionalize the diplomatic corps by requiring 75% of Assistant Secretaries to be career professionals. It also mandates disclosures of business interests and political contributions for all ambassadorial and top-level nominees.
Legislation introduced by Senate Foreign Relations Committee members would require 75% of assistant secretaries to come from the Senior Foreign Service. The bill also requires a presidential certification that campaign donations were not the primary reason for a nominee's selection.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
State Department Integrity and Transparency Act
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