Government Capacity

February 05, 2025

KJ Boyle

Blog Post Elon MuskGovernment CapacityTrump 2.0

Trump’s DCA Crash Response Was A Disaster—Dems Need To Make It A Scandal

We won’t know the full scope of what went wrong to cause the horrific in-air collision at DCA until the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) completes its investigation. That could take up to two years. Oh, and that’s assuming the investigation is independent–which didn’t previously need to be specified, but, well… look around. Given all of that, the opposition to Musk and Trump, including but not limited to Democrats, must not wait to assign blame.

November 18, 2024 | The American Prospect

Timi Iwayemi

Op-Ed CryptocurrencyEthics in GovernmentGovernanceGovernment Capacity

The Department of Government Efficiency Is Inefficient

DOGE is a new weapon in Trump’s ongoing war against the administrative state. But it’s important to remain clear-eyed about the value federal civil servants provide. These individuals help ensure the safety of our food, medicine, transportation, air, and water. They are also the backbone of our education, health care, and financial regulatory systems. There is no doubt that many Americans feel burned by their recent interactions with these systems, but federal employees are the wrong targets of their ire.

July 16, 2024

Will Royce

Blog Post Executive BranchGovernment CapacityIndependent AgenciesProject 2025Revolving Door

Former Trump Officials Wrote 25 of the 30 Chapters in the Project 2025 Playbook

Former President Trump has recently sought to distance himself from Project 2025 and its radical proposals, claiming that he knows “nothing about” it, has “no idea who is behind it,” and has “nothing to do with them.” Project 2025 has tried to create some distance as well, maintaining in a recent tweet that it is “not affiliated with former President Trump.” It’s a classic example of drawing a distinction without a difference.

May 15, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter

Andrea Beaty Jeff Hauser

Newsletter

Anti-MonopolyClimate and EnvironmentCorporate CrackdownGovernanceGovernment Capacity

Pioneer’s Price Fixing Scandal Is Yet Another Reason We Need To Fully Fund Antitrust Enforcers

Major corporate scandals make the consequences of Republican-led budget cuts at antitrust enforcement agencies even clearer. Crucially, they serve as reminders that the federal government’s ability to combat the ill effects of monopolization rises and falls in direct proportion to funding, even when motivated and creative leadership are at the helm.

May 10, 2024

Fatou Ndiaye

Blog Post Climate and EnvironmentFEMAGovernment CapacityHealthIRS

Four executive branch agencies that desperately need more funding and staffing

Across the federal government, we continue to see how staffing issues are preventing agencies from fulfilling their mandate, at the expense of the public and to the benefit of corporate wrongdoers. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are 4 agencies that desperately need more funding and staffing to protect and do right by the American people.

April 15, 2024

Ananya Kalahasti Fatou Ndiaye

Interview 2024 ElectionCongressional OversightExecutive BranchGovernment Capacity

Unpacking The Federal Executive Branch, A Conversation With Vanderbilt University Professor David Lewis

Coverage of presidential elections typically hones in on contestants’ competing legislative visions, which in truth, tend to morph considerably when hit by the reality of an intransigent Congress. This prompts an important question: are presidential elections overrated? Well, before drawing that conclusion, consider one of the underrated consequences of a federal election: the potential for a new administration to alter the management of the federal workforce and the operations of individual departments within the executive branch. Although journalists eschew reporting of these consequences in favor of (legislatively focused) policy platforms and rallies, there is a wide body of academic research which investigates the impact of presidential administrations on the federal executive branch’s ability and capacity to fulfill its roles and responsibilities. 

April 03, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter

Hannah Story Brown

Newsletter

Corporate CrackdownGovernanceGovernment CapacityRight-Wing Media

Who’s Afraid of the “Deep State”?

Show me a politician rabble-rousing about “unelected bureaucrats” running the country, and I’ll show you someone who wants those bureaucrats to be serving their interests, not the country’s. Show me a company crying foul about government overreach, and I’ll show you a company trying to get away with—in some cases, literally—murder. 

March 06, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter

Hannah Story Brown

Newsletter

Anti-MonopolyConsumer ProtectionGovernment CapacityIRS

Throwing the Public’s Defenders Under the (Mini)Bus

By Friday, Congress needs to vote on a proposed “minibus”—a package of six out of the 12 necessary government spending bills for fiscal year 2024—to avoid a partial government shutdown. We’ve got a handy explainer of all the federal budget terms you wish you didn’t need to know, from “minibus” to “poison pill” to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which is the reason why our country’s grotesque military budget is getting a $26 billion boost up to $886 billion, while non-defense spending is getting a $4 billion cut, down to $773 billion.

While there are plenty of damning narratives to derive from the latest in government appropriations dysfunction, there is one story in particular that we’re anxious to see told by the White House and Congressional Democrats, and it’s this…