Trump’s War on the Shallow State
The administration has left hundreds of appointed roles open—including those that would have a central role in implementing Trump’s priorities.
President Trump's administration has been aggressively attacking both the deep and shallow states within the federal government. The deep state refers to permanent civil servants, whom the president and his aides believe are either ineffective or liberal. This has resulted in hundreds of thousands of employees being fired or pushed out, protections eliminated, and positions converted to political appointments.
However, the administration has also left many vacancies within the shallow state, which consists of appointed positions that are subject to Senate confirmation or not. Trump has failed to nominate people for 244 of 823 top appointed roles. For instance, the Pentagon is facing a leadership crisis with many major jobs open due to the lack of a secretary of the Army and other key positions.
Similarly, the U.S. is embroiled in a war with Iran and lacks an ambassador to several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, and Yemen. The administration is also struggling to address water shortages and lacks a director for the Bureau of Reclamation. Trump's efforts to wield big-government conservatism have been effective, but his undermining of both the deep and shallow states hinders the government's ability to execute its priorities effectively.
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