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Perspective: There is method to this madness

Pixabay

There is definitely method to his madness. Donald Trump is not randomly nominating eccentric oddballs. He is carefully crafting his cabinet to address the perennial problem facing all presidents.

That problem is the daunting task of taming the unwieldy hydra that is the federal bureaucracy. All presidents struggle with the bureaucracy, Republicans more than Democrats due to the liberal leanings of most bureaucrats. Despair over this dilemma ultimately led Nixon to Watergate.

Trump’s novel approach to control of the bureaucracy, if successful, could revolutionize the practice of public management. His criteria for cabinet positions are two: deep personal fealty to him, and deep skepticism concerning the agency to be managed. Every single nominee bears personal skepticism, nay hostility, towards a key function of the agency to be managed. Kennedy and vaccines constitute just the most obvious example.

Trump’s nominees are all intensely loyal to Trump, and intensely skeptical of their agencies; thus they are all likely to be mega MAGA managers. Add to this mix the celebrity status of most of the nominees and extensive media coverage should herald their efforts.

There is indeed novelty to Donald Trump’s administrative approach. It is a novel example of the fox guarding the henhouse. I am Bob Evans and that is my perspective.

Robert Evans is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics, Business and Accounting at Rockford University and Associate Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. He is actively involved in the Rockford University public policy program, trains managers on law-related topics, is a political consultant and analyst, and also serves on non-profit boards.