President-elect Donald Trump’s demand that the Senate go into recess to allow his top appointees to take office without a confirmation vote would be a complete abdication of the chamber’s constitutional advice and consent responsibility, increasing the odds that unvetted and unqualified individuals will occupy critical government jobs.

Although the Senate has an obligation to evaluate independently and vote on presidential appointees to protect the public interest, Trump has a valid concern about getting his nominees confirmed in a timely manner.

The confirmation system is clearly broken, with the Senate routinely taking far too long to review and vote on presidential appointees — a problem that has grown worse over time and left important jobs vacant for lengthy periods in areas ranging from national security to public health and safety.

The number of political appointees subject to Senate confirmation — more than 1,300 — has grown by more than 70 percent since 1960, while the average time to confirm nominees has nearly quadrupled since the Reagan administration, from about 49 days then to 191 for President Joe Biden as of Aug. 2, according to an analysis by my organization, the Partnership for Public Service.

In addition to discouraging qualified nominees from........

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