Nearly half of the Bush administration's top positions are vacant or are being filled on a temporary basis, The Washington Post reports.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice appear to have the most vacancies. HUD needs a new secretary and an assistant secretary for Indian and public housing. At DOJ, five of seven top positions are being filled on a temporary basis.

Over at the Interior Department, the only major vacancy is the assistant secretary for Indian affairs. George Skibine, a longtime Bureau of Indian Affairs employee, has been assigned the duties on a temporary basis. But with eight months left in the administration, the department is still searching for a new assistant secretary, deputy secretary P. Lynn Scarlett said yesterday.

"George Skibine is an experienced federal manager who is well known and respected throughout Indian Country," said Scarlett. "The Office of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education will be in very capable hands during the search for a new assistant secretary for Indian Affairs."

Besides the vacancies, the White House has ordered federal agencies to stop proposing new regulations after Sunday.

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Late in the Term, an Exodus of Senior Officials (The Washington Post 5/28)
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