William Wallace
Battle is about to be joined.
Lessons About the Civil Service and Political Appointees
Democracy dies when the civil service refuses to follow their politically-elected leaders.
There are significant costs associated with this mutinous behavior: cost overruns, delays, inflated procurement costs, greater numbers of investigations (and higher penalties for) politically mis-aligned private firms. On top of this, the outgoing administration stacks the Federal Register with myriad incomprehensible rules that take months to decipher, much less dismantle.
Republicans normally face an uphill battle. Trump 1 was like showing up to climb Mount Everest with a fanny pack and some granola bars while wearing Crocs and a MAGA hat.
It would be criminally irresponsible not to put Schedule F in place.
Trump II has a chance. But they’re going to have to move quickly.
‘The first Trump administration (“Trump I”) was chronically frustrated by the difficulties it had staffing the government with loyal employees. As a result, disloyal civil servants exploited the opportunity to build up an impressive track record materially harming the operational integrity of Trump I.’
Trump Set to Start Slashing Regulations Across Government in Bonfire of Red Tape
Tally-ho.
The next one hundred and two days are going to be thrilling.
‘Trump is expected to use a legislative tool known as the Congressional Review Act that allows the president, with the help of Congress, to undo rules enacted in the final months of the previous administration. He was the first president to use it widely, in his first administration.
‘“We are scrubbing right now to determine what is eligible,” for reconsideration under the act, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) said Tuesday at an American Petroleum Institute meeting in Washington.
‘Republicans are also looking to pass the Reins Act, short for Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, which the House approved in 2023, to curb Biden-era rules.’
Voters Want MAGA Lite From Trump, WSJ Poll Finds
It’s not clear how long his political capital will last, but Trump has to move fast, win quickly, and bootstrap into progress. Or he will die on the mountain.
‘Some 53% want Trump to make significant changes in how government is run once he is inaugurated Monday. But more than 60% oppose one of his central ideas for doing so—replacing thousands of career civil-service workers with people chosen by the president.
‘More than 60% also oppose eliminating the Education Department, a marquee Trump proposal for paring the federal government. Only 18% would supersede congressional powers and give Trump more authority over federal spending, as he has proposed.’
You can run. But can you hide? We’re about to find out.
Bureaucrats have been preparing for months for the onslaught, including changing documents to try to protect themselves.
People show you who they are.
‘As President-elect Donald Trump’s administration prepares to take over Washington, some federal employees are quietly changing the language of job descriptions and performance reviews in an effort to protect roles and critical government functions in the face of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
‘Tech billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump tapped to lead the outside initiative, have said they plan to recommend slashing the federal workforce, cutting the government’s annual budget by at least $1 trillion, and curbing regulations.
‘Ahead of the initiative’s deployment, five sources familiar with the effort, including senior staffers from multiple agencies, told CNN that some workers are removing mentions of “policy” decision-making and terms related to diversity programs from written job descriptions, duties, and performance reviews to protect the roles from possible cuts.
‘“People are definitely reimagining how to communicate what they’ve done and do to try and escape scrutiny,” one federal employee told CNN.’
The Starmer government in the UK announced a propos nothing that they wanted to give away the Chagos Islands, some of the most strategic assets in that part of the world.
The beautiful thing is that he British bureaucracy is strangling this intent.
‘It would be very funny if UK bureaucratic procedure was what stopped the government getting rid of the Chagos Islands.’
Is NYC’s Congestion Pricing Working? Fewer Private Cars Are On the Road (For Now)
We’ll see how the congestion pricing thing works out.
One is skeptical. Initially, the people who stopped driving into the city seem to be people who spent money in the city.
Wouldn’t it be something if the net tax benefit was negative?
‘Although it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions, a Bloomberg News analysis of roughly 75,000 vehicles travelling through the zone found that the faster travel speeds are most likely due to fewer personal vehicles. This means fewer car trips by commuters, shoppers and people running errands using their own vehicles.
‘And the drivers for whom time is money, such as workers making deliveries or shuttling passengers in taxis and Ubers, are reaping the benefits.’
Australia’s Youth Social Media Ban Is Misguided and Dangerous
A friend wrote me recently, “Some people like to tyrannize; some people want to be tyrannized.”
‘The Albanese government’s stance is reminiscent of Friedrich Hayek’s warning in The Fatal Conceit: certain groups or individuals—often the state—believe they know what’s best for everyone. This hubris leads them to impose their way of life on others, disregarding individual preferences and freedoms. Australia’s social media ban is a textbook example of this mindset. And yet, the unintended consequences of such prohibitions will be borne by those who opposed them from the start. Not to mention the damaging effects towards free speech, a free press, and free choice—pillars that are essential for any society’s short- and long-term prosperity.’
You might want to reconsider the plans to destroy water infrastructure.
‘If failure to build new water projects for a growing state population weren’t bad enough, Gavin Newsom and his administration are spending millions of taxpayer dollars to destroy existing water infrastructure in fire-prone Northern California.
‘The Klamath Dam was removed in 2023.
‘Scott Dam is next: a century-old dam system upon which some 600,000 people rely in agricultural communities stretching from Potter Valley to Bodega Bay.
‘The government wants to remove this dam, impoverishing the farm communities and rural residents who rely on it, to “improve salmon habitat.”’
The FTC Is on the Front Lines of Tech Innovation & Regulation
The toast of the day in the Royal Navy is “Ourselves” followed by the pusser refrain (“because no one else will bother”).
Here’s the FTC tooting their own horn.
‘The FTC has been hard at work over the past few years. Part of the agency's mission has been to build internal muscles to better anticipate how existing and emerging technologies can harm consumers and competition. This is why the FTC established the Office of Technology (OT), a first in the agency's 110-year history. OT's work has become an indelible part of the agency, an acknowledgment of how deeply technology is ingrained across the economy, not just sequestered to "big tech."’