The U.S. Government Publishing Office has (finally) released the quadrennial compendium of all politically appointed jobs in the federal government – the so-called “Plum Book” for its cover.

The book can be viewed here. For every federal department and agency, the book lists all of the jobs most related to setting federal policy, whether the job is politically appointed or not, the type of appointment, the compensation level, and the name of the occupant as of July 16, 2024.

In terms of type of appointment, the big ones are:

• PAS = Presidential Appointment, with Senate confirmation
• PA = Presidential Appointment, without Senate confirmation
• CA = Career Appointment (no political appointees)
• NA = Noncompetitive Appointment (political appointee at a high level)
• SC = Schedule C (political appointee at a lower level)

For example, in the Secretary of Transportation’s immediate office, you have the Secretary himself (PAS, paid at Executive Schedule level I), five NA’s (Chief of Staff, two Deputy Chiefs of Staff, two Senior Advisors), and ten Schedule C’s at pay levels ranging from GS-9 to GS-15. The Office of Public Affairs has two NA’s and twelve Schedule C’s.

Overall, at the Department of Transportation, the new Plum Book shows nine PAS’s, three PA’s, 40 NA’s, 52 Schedule C’s, and four other types of political appointee.

The salary levels are discussed here.