WaEx: President Trump said Wednesday that he does not plan to fill many of the vacancies left by departing political appointees in his administration, arguing the federal government could survive without some of the staff positions currently awaiting appointees.
“We don’t need so many people coming to work,” Trump told the Washington Examiner in an interview at the White House Wednesday. “When they say about putting people in, there are so many jobs in Washington, we don’t want so many jobs. You don’t need all of those people.”
The White House has faced questions about its slow pace of nominating people to fill the hundreds of open positions across the government. Administration officials have countered that Senate Democrats are to blame for stonewalling the nominees who have made it into committees.
Absolutely!
Companies downsize all the time, to avoid becoming inefficient, bloated and stagnant. Cut, cut and keep on cutting!
I go to D.C. all the time, and that whole area has been booming for the last 8 years, while Flyover, USA struggles (or as Mooch would say, ‘shtruggles’ – nice Princeton education you got there – but I digress) with soaring insurance premiums, unemployment, etc… Massive downsizing is needed, and I’m glad to hear this from President Trump.
While I applaud the goal of leaving these positions vacant, I believe the strategy is self-defeating. The total number of political appointees is relatively small in the entire federal workforce. But they control everything. When you leave the position vacant, the next in line become the acting leader. Likely, that person is is an Obama supporter who will control the agency completely opposite to Trump’s intention. It would be far better to put his own people in at the top and fire several of the deputies to make up for it.
Do something to trigger a “government shutdown” and see which jobs are “nonessential”. Eliminate them – for a start.
As I remember Trump asked Obama if he would be allowed to keep some of his workers! Apparently so!
Good start.
@Professor Hale — Your argument makes sense. But, unlike obama, Trump seems to be using his official Cabinet heads as real, working Department heads, something akin to a senior vice president within a corporation. Most of obama’s Cabinet members were political appointees who had superficial or merely political knowledge (meaning they were there because of who they knew rather than what they knew). obama’s working group were his “czars”. He reportedly had 50 politically-appointed positions and he filled 39 of those with czars who were not required to be confirmed by the Senate. The most of any president. Trump, on the other hand, has so far appointed people who are subject matter experts and former administrative managers (CEO’s) in their prior civilian- or gov’t-held positions. Because of this strategy, Trump can let his Cabinet leaders determine, based on their leadership and operational skill, which second/third tier positions really need to be filled. They are also in a better position to determine who among the Department leadership are still loyal to obama and need to be removed. It’s so early yet, but we already see progress in reducing the size of gov’t. A couple of the Cabinet heads have publicly expressed their horror over the size of their bloated departments and the fraud, waste and abuse encountered. For example, Dr. Carson has already identified billions in suspected fraud at HUD.
All to say, I’m encouraged by Trump’s tactics so far.
Is he thinking Jason Chaffetz?
I knew it.
…and T-Rex Tillerson stated with a steely-eyed expression that he has determined within his first couple of weeks as head of State that many of the so-called senior positions would not be filled. He intimated with some disgust that they were crony positions which added nothing to the mission.
I can think of several bureaucrats in powerful positions that would make better vacancies…
I like that, except for judges. Courts are overburdened in the districts not having a judge appointed.
Does anyone know if circuit or any federally appointed circuit judge can be transferred,(i.e. like in the military and other federal servants)? That would be a great way to redistribute obama’s circuit 9 clique.
as far as I’m concerned DT can keep cutting government until a old lady officed in a two car garage in Kansas can run it.
Two car garage?
Oh, what I’d do to be working in a TWO car garage. In Kansas!
You must think the sun shines out your ass, Sonny!