The Influence of Diversity and Qualifications in Presidential Nominations: The Case of United States Attorneys

Abstract

In this project, we employ original data on the future positions of United States Attorneys (USAs) to assess the influence of formal qualifications in structuring the post-service careers of a group of elite political figures. Compared to USAs who are white men, we find that presidents are significantly more likely to nominate USAs who are females or minorities to positions on the federal bench and in the upper federal bureaucracy. In other words, and after controlling for a number of additional individual-level differences, we find the same professional credential—service as a USA—to be more advantageous in the context of nomination to these positions for traditionally underrepresented individuals than for white men. We also find that more fine-grained qualifications influence the likelihood of promotion; in some instances, those individual qualifications also operate differently across demographically traditional and nontraditional nominees.