new website has made available a database of anyone serving in a top-ranking position in the federal government, offering new insight that advocates said will boost transparency and better prepare new administrations to transition into power.

The Office of Personnel Management launched the site to comply with the Periodically Listing Updates to Management (PLUM) Act, which so far includes the names, roles and pay levels of more than 8,000 executives in government.

OPM said that figure will grow to 10,000 as it ensures compliance and updates the list over the coming months. It will include senior leaders at every federal agency, including all 4,000 political appointees, Senior Executive Service members and other top or non-competitively appointed officials.

President Eisenhower first requested in 1952 a list of every position he would have to fill for his administration and the resulting document became known as the “Plum Book” for both its color and because it was made up of the most “plum” jobs in government. It has since been updated only every four years in the months before a presidential election, though watchdogs have complained the book is too infrequently published, instantly outdated and riddled with errors.

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