What problems are created by rapid-fire turnover of political appointees? Name at least five problems addressed in the text.

What will be an ideal response?

First, many presidential appointees leave after they have barely learned their jobs and adapted to the Washington environment. Second, despite frequent talk of a president’s or department head’s “team,” rapid turnover undermines teamwork. Third, civil servants’ incentives to obey political superiors tend to fray when those superiors, here today, are likely to be gone tomorrow. Fourth, the high rate of turnover means that staffing the administration never really ends. Finally, during the last year or eighteen months of a presidency, there is likely to be a substantial exodus of political appointees, many intent on capitalizing on their government experience by obtaining employment in the private sector.