Trump and the Bureaucrats: The Fate of Neutral Competence. New Book by Interim Dean Stuart Shapiro

January 31, 2023

Donald Trump came to office vowing the deconstruction of the administrative state, and for four years he and his loyalists waged war on the federal bureaucracy. How did this conflict affect both those inside the government and the way federal officials view their role? Disputes over the role of bureaucrats as experts and as politically neutral are more than a century old. But the Trump Administration’s position in these debates was very different. Based on 50 interviews with officials at the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office, and the Economic Research Service at USDA, I conclude both that neutral competence in the federal government is alive and well within those agencies, and in danger from future Trump like presidents

Interim Dean Stuart Shaprio

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-22079-1#toc

Recent Posts

Williams, Cantor, et al. Examine Black-White Death Inequities

Longitudinal Associations From US State/Local Police and Social Service Expenditures to Suicides and Police-Perpetrated Killings Between Black and White Residents Abstract Policy Points Despite documented inequities in suicide trends and police-perpetrated killing for...

Geisha D. Ester Appointed Executive Director of NTI

The National Transit Institute, part of the Bloustein School’s Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, has appointed Geisha D. Ester as its new Executive Director.  Ester brings more than 27 years of transit industry experience and 18 years of leadership in workforce...

The Political Machine Won’t Decide NJ’s Next Governor

County bosses were stripped of the power to rig statewide elections. Now there’s no clear favorite in a state where Republicans are rising. The outcome of New Jersey’s June 10 gubernatorial primary is anyone’s guess. With no clear front-runner, the elimination of...

Tariff Uncertainty and its Impact on Economic Forecasting

R/ECON’s next economic forecast is slated for release in mid-summer, followed by another forecast in the fall. As we track the latest state data and national outlook, we (much like everyone else) have been closely following the news on tariffs, the Fed’s potential...

Heldrich Center: Using Data to Help Bolster Workforce Initiatives

The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development provides research expertise and analysis to organizations, including the Fed, to help improve education, training, and workforce development programs that affect employers and employees. By Jennie Blizzard, Fed...