empty posts at State

Foreign Policy's Josh Rogin totes up the many senior level vacancies at the State Department. They may reflect a power struggle between the White House, which wants nominees more beholden to the President than to the Secretary, and Secretary Kerry, but more likely it's just another example of the slowness of the White House appointments office to settle on and nominate personnel. The problem has also been evident throughout the Obama years in judicial appointments, Federal Reserve appointments, and various sub-cabinet jobs. 

It's one thing to avoid bruising confirmation fights, but quite another to let vacancies remain for months.