President Obama began this week by tapping Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx to head the Department of Transportation and ended it by nominating major campaign donor Penny Pritzker for Secretary of Commerce.

While both nominees pose potential problems- Foxx has a rocky history with contracts and the Pritzker family’s hotel chain has been accused of abusing employees- the biggest narrative to emerge out of the week’s nominations has focused on the fact that so many of these positions still need filling this late in the president’s second term.

The administration has faced widespread criticism that their Cabinet picks haven’t been inclusive enough, as his first three- Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew- all lacked diversity. Many have speculated that the selection of Foxx was a move designed to combat that image.

But criticism of the general lack of bodies at the top level has been even louder. Political blogger Jonathan Bernstein notes that around 60 judicial vacancies remain open, including 11 at the appellate level and 3 on the DC circuit. The State Department’s halls continue to be empty months after Kerry’s confirmation, with nearly a quarter of the top jobs vacant or occupied by placeholders. The IRS has been sans a director since November. The Department of Homeland Security needs two cybersecurity appointees. And the Commerce Department is missing a chief economist.

Some have blamed the deeply polarized climate in the Senate for the White House’s dearth of nominations- or in other words, some have blamed the GOP. During Lew’s confirmation hearing, senators asked 444 questions, which is more than was asked the previous seven Treasury Secretaries combined. The administration has repeatedly scolded Republicans for “going to extraordinary lengths…to obstruct the confirmation process.”

At the end of the day, though, the responsibility to produce names for the country’s highest offices in a timely fashion rests with the president. Insiders bemoan the intense vetting-or overvetting- process that the White House has established to avoid controversy, claiming that it has severely slowed the nomination pace. The fact that the DOT and Commerce heads are being named so late in the game is extremely newsworthy, especially since Pritzker’s potential desk has been gathering dust for nearly a year. President Obama and Senate Republicans must find a way to approve picks with celerity and civility if the federal government is to function properly moving forward.