WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump hinted at permanent vacancies in federal posts across government agencies in an early morning Twitter post Tuesday that pushed back on criticism his administration is understaffed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawmakers have been critical for months over the slow pace of nominees for key Defense Department leadership jobs and other high-profile agency postings. Trump has repeatedly attacked Democrats for slowing the confirmation process for dozens of his picks, but Republicans in Congress have said that is only part of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far this year, 117 nominees have been confirmed by the Senate, and another 106 are in the middle of the confirmation process. But more than 360 other top positions that need Senate approval have yet to be named by the administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They include the Pentagon\u2019s undersecretary of defense for policy and the Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 top benefits and health care officials. Overall, more than 1,200 government posts require a presidential nomination and Senate approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During a \u201cFox & Friends\u201d episode Tuesday morning, conservative commentator Laura Ingraham called the glut of open positions a looming, serious problem for Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve only had a FEMA administrator since June,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can look at these pictures (of the Texas hurricane response) and conclude that the federal government does need staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re facing a crisis with North Korea. We\u2019re facing a crisis of confidence across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minutes later, the commander in chief took to social media to respond to the morning talk show segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are not looking to fill all of those positions,\u201d he wrote. \u201cDon\u2019t need many of them \u2014 reduce size of government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cutting back on government waste and redundancy has been a goal of the Trump White House. One of his first actions as president was a hiring freeze across federal agencies while a review of federal personnel was underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But critics \u2014 both Republican and Democrats \u2014 worry that Trump\u2019s mindset has taken that idea too far, leaving critical leadership posts vacant and thereby limiting the president\u2019s ability to enact broader reforms across the federal bureaucracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ingraham said during the show appearance that if Trump has plans to reassign those responsibilities elsewhere \u201cand cause the ultimate shrinkage of government, then let\u2019s hear about that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senators are scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., in a week. Dozens of Trump nominees were confirmed in the final days of the summer legislative session after Democratic leaders dropped parliamentary stalling tactics they were using to protest the handling of Trump\u2019s proposed health care overhaul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n