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

Mian: Affordable housing in God’s backyard

Affordable housing in God’s backyard: Some religious congregations find a new use for their space By Nadia Mian, Ph.D., Senior Program Director, Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement Faced with declining membership, aging buildings and large, underutilized...

Do you have one of the most common jobs in New Jersey?

Nearly 4.6 million people work in New Jersey in thousands of different types of jobs. But nearly 840,000 positions make up the top 10 most common roles, according to data from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. Laborers and freight stock and material movers — those...

NJSPL – The New Jersey Induced Travel Calculator

By Robert B. Noland Induced travel occurs when new roads or lanes are built with the goal of reducing traffic congestion. What this means in practice is that new travel fills the new roads or lanes such that the goal of congestion reduction is not met. While many...

Kelly O’Brien (MCRP ’09) Named Fairfax City Hometown Hero

On July 15th, Kelly O'Brien (MCRP '09)  was recognized as a Hometown Hero during Fox 5 DC's Zip Trip visit to Fairfax City. "Although I don't think of myself as a hero, I am grateful for the chance to express my dedication to serving my community and shed light on the...

Winecoff: Working Paper on Health Insurance Enrollment

Spillovers in Public Benefit Enrollment: How does Expanding Public Health Insurance for Working-Age Adults affect Future Health Insurance Choices? Abstract Enrollment in one public benefit program often affects enrollment in others. We study life-course spillovers by...

Upcoming Events

Event Series CAREERS

Virtual Career Drop-ins

Virtual

Stop by virtually on Mondays (except for holidays) beginning September 9th through December 16th between 11 am and 1 pm to ask a quick (15 min) career-related question of Bloustein […]