Vanderbilt is a dynamic center of research, learning and growth - a private research university of 6,300 undergrads and 5,300 grad/professional students.

Vanderbilt University

New Row

Contact expert @[Full Name](fullname), @[Job Title](job_title) at @[Organization](organization) for media, speaking, professional opportunities and more.

@[Full Name](fullname) at @[Organization](organization) | Contact Form

Expert Inquiry

Open Sans

2016, Presented by the Midwest Political Science Association for the best paper in bureaucratic politics, public administration, or public policy at the annual meeting, 2015. “Controlling Agency Choke Points: Presidents and Regulatory Personnel Turnover,” (with Kathleen Doherty and Scott Limbocker)

Kenneth J. Meier Award

2017, Presented by the American Political Science
Association (APSA) Section on Public Administration for the best paper presented on a panel sponsored by the Public Administration Section at the APSA annual meeting.

Herbert Kaufman Best Paper Award

Robert Birkby Award for Teaching Excellence in Political Science

2015, Presented by the Midwest Public Administration Caucus to honor a scholar who has made a significant contribution to the study of the public bureaucracy.

Herbert Simon Award

Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

With high honors and general distinction in scholarship

Public Administration : Editorial board

Presidential Studies Quarterly : Editorial board

American Political Science Association : Member

Midwest Political Science Association : Member

Presidency Research Group : Member

Government Reform, Political Ideology, and Administrative Burden: The Case of Performance Management in the Bush Administration

Influencing the Bureaucracy: The Irony of Congressional Oversight

Presidents and Patronage

Agency Performance Challenges and Agency Politicization

Elite Perceptions of Agency Ideology and Workforce Skill

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many questioned whether the large number of political appointees in the Federal Emergency Management Agency contributed to the agency's poor handling of the catastrophe, ultimately costing hundreds of lives and causing immeasurable pain and suffering. The Politics of Presidential Appointments examines in depth how and why presidents use political appointees and how their choices impact government performance--for better or worse.


The Politics of Presidential Appointments Political Control and Bureaucratic Performance

The administrative state is the nexus of American policy making in the postwar period. The vague and sometimes conflicting policy mandates of Congress, the president, and courts are translated into real public policy in the bureaucracy. As the role of the national government has expanded, the national legislature and executive have increasingly delegated authority to administrative agencies to make fundamental policy decisions. How this administrative state is designed, its coherence, its respon

Presidents and the Politics of Agency Design Political Insulation in the United States Government Bureaucracy, 1946-1997

David E. Lewis is the Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations (Peabody College) at Vanderbilt University. His research interests include the presidency, executive branch politics and public administration. He is the author of two books, Presidents and the Politics of Agency Design (Stanford University Press, 2003) and The Politics of Presidential Appointments: Political Control and Bureaucratic Performance (Princeton University Press, 2008). He has also published numerous articles on American politics, public administration, and management in journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, the British Journal of Political Science, Presidential Studies Quarterly, and Public Administration Review. His work has been featured in outlets such as the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, and Washington Post.

In 2022, he was appointed to a two-year term as a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. He is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration and he is a past president of the Southern Political Science Association and Midwest Public Administration Caucus.  He has earned numerous research and teaching awards, including the Herbert Simon Award for contributions to the scientific study of the bureaucracy and the Madison Sarratt, Jeffrey Nordhaus, and Robert Birkby awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching.

Before joining Vanderbilt’s Department of Political Science, he was an assistant professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University. He began his academic career at the College of William and Mary, where he was an assistant professor in the Department of Government. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, and Presidential Studies Quarterly. PhD. Stanford University.

Congressional Oversight

Presidential Appointments

Public Administration

American Politics

Government Agencies

Bureaucracy

Presidency

Federal Agencies

Confirmation Hearings

Vanderbilt University Profile

Vanderbilt University News Profile

Personal Webpage

Princeton University Profile

Google Scholar Profile

Elon Musk's time machine

The history of civil service and the impact of Trump’s slashing of the workforce

Breaking down the first month of Trump 2.0

Trump Tests Legal Limits in Pushing Out Federal Employees

How the civil service system changed American government

If You Can Keep It: The future of the federal workforce

Musk and Ramaswamy Unveil Plan to Overhaul Government

Trump wanted to slash the federal government. But federal agencies are doing just fine.

Here’s why Trump is threatening federal layoffs if Congress won’t shut this agency down

Trump's slow pace of appointments is hurting government -- and his own agenda

Rebecca Webb Wilson University Professor and University Distinguished Professor of Political Science

Media Inquiry