Home / General / Fixing a Gutted Government

Fixing a Gutted Government

/
/
/
2508 Views
President Donald Trump examines a fire truck from Wisconsin-based manufacturer Pierce on the South Lawn during a “Made in America” product showcase event at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 17, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Olivier Douliery (Photo credit should read OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP/Getty Images)

While there were four years of endless headlines over this and that hellish crisis caused by the first fascist government in American history, Trump’s minions–who were by and large just mainstream Republicans–were quietly engaging in their long-term goal of destroying the efficacy of government from within. How much can Biden fix this?

The Federal Bureau of Prisons, its staff depleted by Trump-era hiring freezes, is advertising for thousands of jobs. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is bringing on dozens of lawyers after being gutted by four years of budget cuts. The Agriculture Department is moving to replace hundreds of scientists who fled or were forced out by the last administration.

At the Justice Department, officials are looking to hire civil rights attorneys — and the Energy Department is recruiting for senior energy efficiency and renewable energy roles that went unfilled when Donald Trump was president.

That’s a fraction of the growth in the federal bureaucracy that the Biden administration would like to see, according to a $1.5 trillion preliminary budget the White House released in April, which directs billions of dollars into hiring to help curb climate change, restore enforcement of environmental and workplace laws, and expand safety net programs in housing, education, public health and veterans’ health.

OK, hold on here a minute. That’s now a “growth in the federal bureaucracy!” That’s simply hiring for unfilled positions. I hate how the Beltway media parrots right-wing talking points in this manner. Anyway…

President Biden vowed during his campaign to restore faith in a federal bureaucracy his predecessor villainized as an unaccountable “deep state” — and with debate stirring in Congress on $6 trillion in spending proposed by the White House, that shift now involves persuading Americans to embrace a bigger government.

Already, the vision is colliding with the reality that even in just a single term, Trump succeeded in his goal of cleaving and disrupting the federal government.

Some programs that are crucial to Biden’s agenda are so short-staffed that his administration can’t yet fully implement his policies, among them enforcement of fair-housing and workplace safety laws. A number of decisions by the Trump administration, including the relocation of key economic research and land management offices, are proving hard to reverse.

So…wait? Are you telling me that Donald Trump was not the definitive blow against neoliberalism?

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
This div height required for enabling the sticky sidebar
Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views : Ad Clicks : Ad Views :