WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats yesterday called upon President George W. Bush to halt any administration effort to place political appointees in career jobs just weeks before his team leaves office.

But the White House said there is no orchestrated effort to embed Bush loyalists in the federal workforce before Barack Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration. As in any administration handover, hundreds of current officials in political jobs will be forced to relinquish their posts, and career workers will stay on.

Spokeswoman Dana Perino said that, as a "matter of policy, the White House has not encouraged noncareer appointees to seek career positions in order to further the president's policies. The White House doesn't play a role in that career hiring process." She stressed that career employees rate a political appointee's qualifications for a career spot, and the federal Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, oversees those decisions in an administration's final 11 months.

Between March 1 and Nov. 3, according to numbers released by the OPM, the Bush administration allowed 20 political appointees to become career civil servants.

Six appointees to the Senior Executive Service, the most prestigious and highly paid federal employees, have won approval to take career jobs at the same level. Fourteen other political appointees have been approved for career jobs. One candidate was turned down by the OPM, and two were withdrawn by the submitting agency.

Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., wrote to Mr. Bush, saying the recent transfers suggest a "regrettable, but entirely foreseeable" last-minute rush to fill jobs with administration allies. The senators urged him to keep his pledge of a smooth transition without partisan maneuvering.