A HOSTILE TAKEOVER

There have been instances in the past where a new regime has come to power vowing to reform government, reduce spending, and reign in the bureaucracy. The incoming Trump administration is unusually strong in its determination to achieve these goals. They may well succeed, but the historical record is not encouraging. 

When an outsider takes the reins of an agency they are flying blind. They are immediately dependent upon the existing bureaucracy they have set out to reform for information, and hence are limited or compromised from the outset. In addition, the status quo exists because various interests are satisfied with it. Change under these circumstances is extremely difficult. I have seen this pattern time and again, with the bureaucracy almost always keeping the last word. The passing of Jimmy Carter brings recollections of an attempt during his presidency to implement efficiencies via “zero-based budgeting” as authored by my late cousin Peter, who worked on it at the time but, as with other attempts, the status quo resistance was too strong. 

But now we have something different;  akin to a hostile corporate takeover. It is quite possible that the Trump team may prove to be the exception, much in the same way the man himself is. It is true that the Trump team recognizes this problem and so they have come up with a series of cabinet nominees that are largely, and deliberately antithetical to the entities they are to control. They bring a sort of revolutionary fervor. Perhaps they will succeed, but the task is daunting unless they have someone with inside knowledge of the organization who is programmatically on the same page. They might do better with cadres who independently monitor the agency for adherence to the goals set by the administration, or some equivalent kind of compliance unit. The Musk-Ramaswami DOGE group may fulfill this function. 

Some of the nominees chosen thus far possess a good deal of critical fervor but may lack the necessary knowledge to get very far with it. Others have different problems. RFK Jr. may assume office and move on his health concerns, but the other part of that agency, human services, is likely to be on the chopping block, including programs he might be sympathetic to. It is quite possible that he, or others,  might wind up resigning in frustration after a few months. The most successful are likely to be those concerned with energy, natural resources, and the economy; all areas of Republican concern and expertise. 

Cutting back has become necessary owing to the vast body of government bloat and expanding national debt. This has come about because all entities seek growth and expansion, i.e. the enlargement of their domain, which parallels the pattern of power distribution. Every other segment of society has limitations, such as business competition, supply and demand, or customer numbers.  Government faces no such restraints, so it continually expands.

When things become so stultified the only fix is revolutionary- taking departments apart and reassembling them from scratch. Routine must be replaced by radical change in order to provide renewal, greater efficiency, and functional competence. The tasks for the new administration are daunting, but not impossible. The incoming government may not be able to go this far, but the closer they get to it, the better.