Hd. Palmer et Rj. Vogel, POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY FOR FEDERAL APPOINTMENT - THE CASE OF DEPARTINGMEMBERS OF THE US HOUSE-OF-REPRESENTATIVES, 1951-1992, The Journal of politics, 57(3), 1995, pp. 677-695
This article investigates whether the opportunity for presidential app
ointment influences the congressional career. We discover that more th
an 16% of the House members who retired or suffered electoral defeat f
rom 1961 to 1992 received a federal appointment. The likelihood of app
ointment rises to 28% if only departing representatives from the presi
dent's party are considered. For members of the president's party, leg
islative loyalty and losing a Senate bid significantly increase the pr
obability of appointment. We also find evidence of a cabinet norm in t
he appointment process since more than half of the appointed represent
atives had congressional committee experience within the policy jurisd
iction of their federal appointment. Our results have implications for
research on progressive ambition, voluntary retirement, and the feder
al bureaucracy.