Trump/Bannon Seize More Power As They Gut Federal Agencies

The Trump cabinet is pretty much filled with people who were put there in order to destroy the agency they head. And that plan just feeds into the new authoritarian government Trump and Bannon are trying to set up. Without the federal bureaucracy, everything will be run out of the White House.

We can see this already occurring with the State Department. With multiple sub-cabinet positions still unfilled, apparently the Department has now begun laying off employees in what appears to be a purge. The State Department has not held the normal daily press briefing since Trump's inauguration. Additionally, Secretary of State Tillerson's attempt to hire a deputy has been blocked by the White House. No State Department official was allowed to join the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu. In essence, State is being entirely shut out of the foreign policy decision making process.

The ambassadors have all been fired and told to return home. Any new ambassadors will be probably be required to pay off the Trump family, either through campaign donations or direct graft, Jeffrey Loria being a prime example. Loria is apparently up for the nomination of Ambassador to France at the same time he is negotiating to sell his baseball team, the Miami Marlins, to a group led by Jared Kushner's brother. When that news became public, the Kushner group backed off the deal, saying they would postpone the transaction if Loria became ambassador. However, they specifically still said they were interested in purchasing the Marlins. Loria also donated $125,000 to the Trump campaign last fall. It is not unusual for large campaign donors to be "paid off" with ambassadorships. It is unusual for them to be doing business with the President's family while they are being considered.

The State Department is becoming an empty shell as the career bureaucrats are either forced or choose to leave. There is a titular Secretary of State but he does not seemed to be involved in policy making. There are no ambassadors in place to communicate with foreign countries. Everything is being run out of the White House.

Foreign affairs is clearly the area where a president has the most freedom and leeway and that makes the destruction of the State Department somewhat easier. But it is a template for many other agencies in the Trump administration, the EPA and Labor especially. By gutting these agencies, Trump effectively eliminates any enforcement mechanisms that will constrain his and the GOP's business allies. More importantly, these moves will consolidate even more power in the Trump/Bannon White House.